I've read all the posts about SKW vs XJT in the last month there seems to be a trend of the pilots pointing fingers at each other. Since a few XJT guys here, which may or may not represent the majority, don't think too highly of the boys in St. George (SKW headquarters) I thought I would put my personal perspective out there on behalf of the SKW guys that aren't drunk on SLC koolaid (tony, slaphappy, etc)

From what I've seen and heard between my internship with an involved party and my experience as a SKW pilot I think XJT management put the nail in their own coffin, which unfortunately may take the pilot group with them. XJT is one of the best operated regionals, that is an undeniable fact. The real problem is that XJT management got in a pi$$ing match with CAL's upper echelon and ended up biting the hand that fed them.

I am in no way commenting who started the rift between CAL and XJT. As a crewmember, sometimes you want to turn to the guy next to you and smack him, but handling things in a tactful way keep the cockpit dynamic safe, which is the ultimate goal. We all have to put our pride away, and as a regional airline sometimes we have to cater to the whims of our providers. For whatever reason, right or wrong, XJT management refused to placate CAL management during their falling out and now there is a bunch of CAL flying up for grabs. SKW has wanted to do business since they lost our IAH flying to Colgan four years ago.

Now, given, I'm not Jerry's confidant but I feel confident from my dealings with him and the management I've met that they aren't the type that would relish the chance to put a great airline (XJT) out of business. As evidenced by recent business dealings, they would rather keep XJT flying for CAL then do the flying under the SKW banner. It is advantageous for SKW and XJT. You guys already have a top notch airline in place and you get to retain the flying that you would likely have lost.

As a pilot, my opinion has no effect on the outcome of this situation, but it would be nice to put all the hostility away. From where I stand CAL and XJT's relationship was falling apart, there was a bunch of flying about to be up for grabs and SKW moved on it.

XJT guys: am I totally off base here or what?