Who's panicking?
Of course it changes fast. Bottom line though, Skywest's growth is all happening in the Midwest at the moment. The West Coast 175s are mostly in place, and the former UA -700 birds are moving (and many have already moved) to ORD and PHX to cover AA flying. Net result? We are overstaffed in the West and understaffed in the Midwest.
Until we somehow gain more flying in the West, upgrades and transfers into West Coast bases will remain stagnant. I have no idea where that growth could come from:
• The UA 175 airframes are nearly all in place and staffed.
• The UA 700s are going away (many are already in ORD/AA, and some in PHX/AA).
• There are no plans to add -200s in the West (nor in the Midwest, given Air Whisky's recent deal with UA.)
• Horizon's getting jets to fly for Alaska.
About the only flying I could imagine us getting is more DL 175 flying to cover the LAX-SFO shuttle that Compass appears to still be doing. But that's just one route.
Of course this is the airline industry. This'll all change tomorrow.