skywest reserve, upgrade, etc.

[wannab0133]

when did skywest start interviewing again? just got called from them today. anyway, whats the reserve time and upgrade time estimates in both airplanes? good company, or just another regional. i did see that the pay was pretty good. is slc or den hard bases to get? are they growing? getting new airplanes?

 

[Peealot]

TO answer your questions:
DEN is the most junior base for the CRJ
FAT is the most junior base for the EMB

EMB upgrade flucuates low as 3 months to as high as 2 years
CRJ upgrade is now down to about 3 years, based in DEN

Reserve is longer in the CRJ than the EMB so if given the choice take the EMB for quicker time to lineholder and same amount of money for the first year, IE you will make more money on the EMB for your first year.

Growth for this year is huge. 30 something CRJ's (50s and 70's)mostly for the midwest and east coast. We fill every seat with 5 pilots so you can do the math on how many FOs that will need to be hired to fill vacated FO seats and new aircraft seats. HR is hiring to fill 30+ classes every three weeks for what they have said to be the indefinite future. Everyone here is expecting to see a IAD or ORD base soon.


Good luck

 

[Socalplt]

Run a search on SkyWest, if you haven't already.

There are 1554 pilots on the seniority list right now with another 40 or so starting later this month. We lost a total of 54 last year, so attrition isn't very high. The junior RJ CP will be seniority #828 with the class that starts next monday -- about a June 2000 hire date. The last EMB upgrade class had the junior guy with a seniority of about 1030. There are plenty of standing bids for transtion/upgrade on both airplanes to keep upgrade at 2 years+.

Like Peealot said plenty more aircraft comming in the next 16 months - 42 RJs. I feel pretty confident will be getting more for Delta as well.

Start on the EMB if given a choice. More domiciles to choose from and less time on reserve. All the newhires on the RJ will be going to DEN for a while (or ORD when that becomes a domicile).

 

[EngineOut]

Just out of curiosity, is it possible to commute from EUG/PDX to FAT (or any of the other SoCal domiciles) for the EMB?

 

[Socalplt]

I believe Horizon has a PDX-FAT flight.

 

[Flooder305]

Is it possible?

Yes it's possible as there is one guy who did it for 2 yrs+, and only recently went to DEN, however it's a 2 leg commute if you start in EUG. Either to SFO-FAT on Skywest or PDX-FAT on Horizon. However, and I don't begin to think I know your particular situation but, commuting is a tough business, because it's hard enough to find a "commutable" trip, let alone once you have the seniority to hold commutable trips actually have the loads work out favorably enough to make it less of a hassle than it is inherently. Just my opinion....... But again it is possible.

 

[EngineOut]

Re: Is it possible?

...but, commuting is a tough business, because it's hard enough to find a "commutable" trip, let alone once you have the seniority to hold commutable trips actually have the loads work out favorably enough to make it less of a hassle than it is inherently. Just my opinion....... But again it is possible.

That's really what I wanted to know. Thanks for the info.

 

[MarineGrunt]

How long would it take after being hired to switch domiciles? Say, SLC in my case...

 

[Peealot]

There is no restriction in terms of domicile transfer as long as you have the seniority to hold aircraft/domicile. You could transfer as many times as you wish as quickly as you wish. HOWEVER, if you turn down an award for a domicile/upgrade/transition, you are then locked into your current position for 6 months. The junior guy in SLC for March is #1456 out of about 1500 pilots, so if you want to get to SLC it should be pretty quick. But you will be on reserve FOR EVER in that domicile with that kinda seniority.

 

[pa34driver]

engineout, I live in Eugene, and I commuted to Den for a year, and now I am based in PDX. I usally fly there, but it is only a 2 hour drive. It is probabally the most senior emb domicile at skywest. pm if you have any questions.

 

[wannab0133]

is there an emb base in slc and den? are they senior or junior? also anyone think it is imperative that i get time in the atc-810 sim for the interview? i have access to a frasca 142 and im wondering if that is similar enough to prep.

 

[ClearRight]

There IS an EMB base in SLC and I think there may still be a few crews in DEN. I think they're both pretty junior. I think there are newhires coming right to SLC.

Just so long as you're situationally aware and can fly an approach, it really doesn't matter what simulator you practice in. Everyone likes to practice on the 810 because that's what they have- at least that's the last I've heard. I guess most just feel more prepared having flown the same model sim.

 

[Dave Benjamin]

There was a press release recently that discussed some sort of financial committment made by businesses in EUG to guarantee a certain number of EUG-SLC flights. So it may not be too bad a commute out of EUG-SLC. Ultimately if you live in EUG you'll want PDX as a base but it is very senior. Also one thing that is constant in our business is change. Those EUG-SLC flights could be a long term deal or they could disappear. They could start out being serviced by SKYW and then turned over to another DCI carrier.

At this time there is still a small EMB contingent in DEN. There have been some recent transfers/upgrade awards for the EMB in DEN.

Horizon has a PDX-FAT flight which is a continuation of a SEA-FAT flight and it's only once a day. If I was based in FAT I'd probably try to drop or swap the first and last leg of every trip so I'd only have to commute to LAX or SFO. I have no idea how well that would work.

Current upgrade times are not necessarily an accurate predictor of upgrade for new hires. The last guy to get the CRJ CA class assigned was hired in 7/00. If SKYW grows like gangbusters it could become less of a wait. I know of some guys that made it in just over 2 years. Obviously it could go the other way too. Hopefully that won't happen.

 

[EngineOut]

engineout, I live in Eugene, and I commuted to Den for a year, and now I am based in PDX. I usally fly there, but it is only a 2 hour drive. It is probabally the most senior emb domicile at skywest. pm if you have any questions.

You sir, own my dream job. I'll be there in a couple of years. Keep an eye out for me.

 

[sgu]

huh?

TO answer your questions:
DEN is the most junior base for the CRJ
FAT is the most junior base for the EMB

What about IAH, I would think that is the most junior???????

 

[Mr DC3]

"also anyone think it is imperative that i get time in the atc-810 sim for the interview? i have access to a frasca 142 and im wondering if that is similar enough to prep."

Why even chance it? Sure, both are simulators, but the 810's instrument cluster (the Attitude indicator) is a little wierd. Also, the Frasca tends to be more sensitive on the pitch axis where as the 810 is more sensitive on the roll. Add the stress of two interviewers looking over your shoulder, and the fact that you know you'll blow your whole interview if you make more than a few small mistakes -- or one big one. . .

Get the time in the 810. Is a few hundered bucks worth a career with a great airline?

 

[SkyWestCRJPilot]

Houston is also very junior. According to the current seniority list of 1556 pilots (including 67 EMB FOs currently in training) the most junior line qualified EMB FO is in SBP with seniority number 1486. Here is a list of domiciles and the seniority number of the most junior EMB FO at each including the number of FOs in that domicile.

Base/Seniority/ Amount of FOs/ City Name for those who need it
SBP 1486 10 FOs San Luis Obispo
FAT 1485 36 FOs Fresno
IAH 1482 27 FOs Houston
SBA 1467 10 FOs Santa Barbara
DEN 1462 11 FOs Denver
SMF 1461 5 FOs Sacramento
PSP 1430 23 FOs Palm Springs
MRY 1421 12 FOs Monterrey
SLC 1419 44 FOs Salt Lake City
SAN 1342 20 FOs San Diego
PDX 1267 23 FOs Portland

Of the 20 most junior line qualified FOs, 10 are FAT based, 7 IAH based, 2 SBP based, and 1 SBA based.