Originally Posted by
pangolin
Skywest - without a direct flow - may actually win the captain war. Aviate has ramped up for Mesa and given the projected dates the entire airline will be consumed by United by late 2025. I don’t see how it survives long. I’m 80 pct in ca rankings and I’m supposed to go in just about a year. That means only the 20 pct below me remains in a year. With the dearth of upgrades I don’t see the airline surviving. Skywest on the other hand will likely retain captains longer and last through the hiring blitz.
This is just pure speculation but from my days at OO I’d bet they have around 1,000 Captains who have zero interest is leaving for a Major.
For most regionals that sounds significant but this Airline once had nearly 6000 pilots, half of those being Captains. They will be parking more and more aircraft every single month and I’m shocked they’re running a single new hire class. I’ve read they’re already fat on FO’s and it will get much worse.
When your own leadership says “we’re thinking about the long game” that’s a read between the lines quote. It tells me they’ve decided they’re going to shrink, they have the cash to survive while their competitors fold and they’ll eventually come back as the only shop in town.
As a pilot at SkyWest I wouldn’t want to be any part of that. Plan on your QOL being terrible for a very long time.