I left Mesa for SkyWest as soon as I satisfied my training note last fall. Mostly because I live in a SkyWest base. It wasn't an easy decision for me, but SKYW's pay improvements over the last year made it easier. $36.50/hr + $7500 signing bonus + better soft pay = 1st yr pay around $45k

My Mesa classmates are all hitting their 1000 hrs and starting to upgrade, which is causing me to second-guess my decision a little lately, but overall, it's been a good decision.

I do miss the crews at Mesa--equal parts great people, Stockholm Syndrome, and misery loves company, I guess! :lol:

SkyWest isn't without its warts, though; it's a huge company compared to Mesa, and it's been tough to connect with people here the way I did at Mesa. My newhire class here had 63 people, vs 19 at Mesa. As a result, I only got to know MAYBE a dozen of my classmates well. And they are in desperate need of a union here; I've experienced a lot of stuff that was never a problem at Mesa simply because we had a contract.

Good luck with your decision and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.