Eagle EMB or SkyWest Brasilia?

[Flying Farmer]

What would you guys take? Thanks!

 

[FlyboyPhil]

Well.. I was offered RJ class at ACA while in Class for the Brasilia at Skywest.. glad I didn't take that option.. I would have been told "oops.. your class is cancelled" when I got halfway across the country and have 500? furloughs ahead of me and a burned bridge behind me.
You will hear lots of crap about Skywest being non-union and lowering the bar etc. While it is true that we aren't union and that management hasn't thrown us a bone in a while it is still a great place to work. I start transition to the crj tomorrow and growth is solid, I expect to be able to hold brasilia captain in 18 mos. or so.(just over 3 years?? perhaps I am too optimistic) Eagle growth?? Not sure whats gone on there in the last little while, but look into the date of hire of the most junior captain. Some will say that I am drinking from the kool-aid over here, but I am well aware of the problems we face and the benefits and disadvantages of being union. I anticipate bones from management in January, but am aware they can do as they wish, if it gets better I will be here long term, worse I will be looking, don't expect my resume to be crossing Eagles door anytime soon, if ever...

 

[Bluto]

Probably not too many major differences during the first year. Historically, upgrade has been much faster at SkyWest. If your considering differences in QOL on the Jet vs. the prop, there really isn't too much difference, I'm told at SkyWest. First year pay is the same on the Bro as it is on the jet, with reserve being much shorter on the Bro, conventional wisdom suggests that QOL is maximized by getting the Brasilia for the first year and transitioning to the jet near the end of your first year, thereby taking advantage of the much higher 2nd year jet pay. If it were me, I'd go with SkyWest, mainly for the options of where you can be based. Good luck with your decision.

 

[jacko123]

Skywest!

 

[amcnd]

Although Eagle has solid growth plans, 42 aircraft in 05. + the 18 for the rest of this year. I would still go to Skywest. Eagle is in a bit of a bind with the flowbacks right now.

 

[English]

Skywest.


Morale at Eagle is pretty bad.

Upgrade in five years at Eagle, based on current upgrades.

 

[Mookie]

Skywest...I know several people who came her from Eagle, and I've never heard of anyone leaving skywest for another regional. No offense to Eagle, I'm sure it's a good place. First year pay sux at skywest, we're working on that, but second year pay if you go to the RJ, and you will be able too, will be a liveable wage. Much better quality of life in the emb the first year, and great experience. Great growth between now and next june.

Mookie

 

[igneousy2]

I don't see what the dilema is.


If you don't want to upgrade anytime soon, have misreable wages, be faced with the prospects of having the TWA pukes take your job, have co-workers who have been beat down so hard that they really don't give a care about much to do with the company, belong to a union where the animosity between the union and the company is so high that the union has turned the company in to the FAA on a few occassions, work for a company who regularly gets its pilot's violated by self-disclosing scheduling violations...

then by all means choose Eagle.

P.S. the upgrade times are going to start crawling back up...right now jet captains are '98 hires and t/p captains are '99 hires, however, keep in mind that during all of '98, '99, 2000, and the front end of 2001, Eagle was hiring anywhere from 40-60 pilots a month. They aren't upgrading nearly that many captains a month, it's going to take a while to get through this part of the seniority list. And don't forget about those TWA guys coming in and bumping everybody down from the top.

 

[Flying Farmer]

Points well taken, but what if you were already in training at Eagle?

 

[Truckdriver]

I've never heard of anyone leaving skywest for another regional.
Mookie

We have a bunch of XJT pilots that worked at SKYW. They were the furloughed guys who were hired over there when the prop deal went down. They had the option of staying at SKYW or coming back to XJTwhen recalled. I think the majority of them came back to XJT. Some that I have talked to say quality of life is better at XJT, but the pay is worse.

 

[Mookie]

I stand corrected. I forgot about that. I did hear that the majority were guys who were based in the real expensive parts, SBA, SBP, MRY. Don't blame them, it's pretty **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ed expensive there, and if you are also commuting from the east coast, it's a pretty clear choice. If they would have stayed though they would have doubled their pay the second year on the RJ, and probably upgraded quite a bit sooner....

Mookie

 

[cosmotheassman]

anyone know tom taylor at skywest??

 

[Bluto]

We have a bunch of XJT pilots that worked at SKYW. They were the furloughed guys who were hired over there when the prop deal went down. They had the option of staying at SKYW or coming back to XJTwhen recalled. I think the majority of them came back to XJT. Some that I have talked to say quality of life is better at XJT, but the pay is worse.

That's true, most of them went back to Xjt. However, it was a unique situation. For most of the XJT guys it was a choice between 6 more months of first year pay and probation at XJT, versus nearly a year. Additionally, anyone who went back to XJT almost immediately had about 2-300 people junior to them and the ability to hold a line, at least in EWR, almost straight out of class. Many were also gambling on a big pay-raise with the new contract. I certainly hope they get it.

I guess my point is simply that it's a little more complicated than suggesting that people went back to XJT because they thought it was a better place to be. People went back, or didn't, for a variety of reasons.

I've also heard the exact opposite about QOL at XJT versus SkyWest from a CAL pilot who has now flown at both. It really depends on where you are based and what you want out of your job.

 

[MED]

Points well taken, but what if you were already in training at Eagle?

GET OUT ASAP! i've been here for 5 years now and nothing but regrets, i know guys with seniority like me are bailing for another regional carriers, their all right about the upgrade here. 5 years of seniority and nowhere close to upgrade not to mention that you have to babysit most of the flushbacks from AA and TWA.
my suggestion is go to the airport and ask any eagle employees(rampers, gate agents,flight attendants, caterers and pilots) if their happy the way the company threats them.
i'm spending $1600 of my own money to get my ATP somewhere else so i can get out of here.
if your main goal is to work for major airline someday, you need PIC time and you ain't getting it here, I got 4000 SIC time that the majors don't even look at.

 

[Skyboss]

I stand corrected. I forgot about that. I did hear that the majority were guys who were based in the real expensive parts, SBA, SBP, MRY. Don't blame them, it's pretty **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ed expensive there, and if you are also commuting from the east coast, it's a pretty clear choice. If they would have stayed though they would have doubled their pay the second year on the RJ, and probably upgraded quite a bit sooner....

Mookie

Low pay or not, doesn't SkyWest still fork out about $16K for your type rating and other associated prep??? Thats $17,280 (minimum) +$16,000 (Type Rating) = $32,280, plus per diem and no type rating loan to pay back. Maybe they don't anymore, but they were pretty fixed on keeping this the way it is.

Just putting it in perspective of why SkyWest handles first year pay the way they do.

 

[Mookie]

Type rating??? don't know where you heard that one... No, skywest does not give you a type rating and $17,000 doesn't go too far in MRY, SBA, SAN, etc...

Mookie

 

[Skyboss]

When did they stop sending people to school? They used to send people to Flight Safety after being hired. They may own a sim now, haven't been to SLC in a few years. If they aren't type rating people anymore, then they need a raise. If they are, then pay is just fine. Maybe they use Comair Academy or what ever it is now.

 

[SkyWestCRJPilot]

SkyWest does their own inhouse ground school. Then pilots are trained in FlightSafety simulators operated by SkyWest's instructors. SkyWest leases the simulators from FlightSafety but our own people operate them. The CRJ simulators are at FlightSafety in SLC and the Brasilia simulators are at FlightSafety in LGB (Long Beach). Type ratings are only done for upgrading captains.

 

[Skyboss]

Good. Then they did get the sim. That was in the works when I left in 98.

 

[NRHPilot]

Hey MED if you are spending $1600. for an ATP, you are spending about $1100.00 too much!