Would it be dumb to leave Skywest for Kalitta?
 

i have been having the hardest time deciding what i should do. i did post a few times about about what kalitta is like, but havent seemed to get any thorough responses about the good and bad of being there. ive talked with a few pilots who used to work there who said it was tolerable. so heres my question...

i just started at Skywest as a CRJ FO this past november. I interviewed with Kalitta this past week and was hired to start April 15th. Would this be a really bad move if i went to Kalitta? Does it look bad to leave a company after only 5 months, most of which has been sitting reserve and i dont even have 100 hours of 121 time yet. At the same time would it be a bad move to pass up the heavy int'l experience at Kalitta and make $19/hr in an RJ? i know i need PIC, but it looks like upgrade times at both places are pretty good around 2 years.

i know kalitta doesnt treat their employees as well as skywest does, but im also not thrilled with skywest being non-union. any advice would be much appreciated!

Go!

I left ASA for Gemini. Three years later I was at FDX.

At the end of my FDX interview, they asked if I wanted to say anything else. I said yeah, and whipped out a world map - I had circled all the cities I had been to (5 continents at that point). They seemed impressed.

GO! Don't let the door hit you in the butt.

I've flown with Connie guys - it is what it is, but there are some good aspects to that company. The man can certainly get USAF contracts, that's for sure.

Assuming you were hired as a pilot, and not a Flight Engineer, I would go.

Unless you want to make Connie a career I would be patient and stay at SKW. While SKW isn't perfect (worked there for five and a half years), it still is a decent place to be to get the necessary credentials to move on. Quick upgrade, decent works rules, and good variety of flying. I left SKW for FDX and the only intl flying experience I had was YYC and YVR. While I will not discount the value heavy Intl flying, I doubt that the majority of those getting hired at FDX have this experience. (I imagine it is the same at other airlines). If you network well and keep your nose clean, then the experience that you get at SKW should get you to where you want to be.

Hope this helps.
Lloyd

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Get the Heavy INT. time..........you can't go wrong with it.

You need at least 1000 hours PIC in a jet. I don't know if Connie can give you that so you might be better at skywest.

If you just started as an f/o at the commuters, how much time do you have? If you are low time like I suspect, you will be riding shotgun for many yrs for Connie before you could even think about upgrading. Not to mention the fact that flying long-haul supplemental isnt for everyone. Be prepared to be on the road and not have much of a home life.