Commuting question
 

Question for you guys. If I am commuting to or from home to base on my own airline, would I get any sort of priority over other standby passengers? Thinking of living in Phoenix and commuting to LA if I get hired with Skywest. I’ve heard that’s a heavily commuted line with large lists of non-rev standby passengers.

Thanks!

You will get priority for the jumpseat and the ability to list S2 if it's skw/delta connection.

Is that a difficult commute for a pilot?

Phoenix to LA blows. Tons of AS, AA, UA and DL dudes. Plus their FAs.

There are regionals with bases in Phoenix. Don’t commute when you don’t have to.

SkyWest doesn’t operate PHX-LAX on the Delta side. It’s usually Compass (hence Compass building the outstation domicile). SkyWest does operate that route for UA and AA though (only about 3 flights a day out of 24).

I agree 100%. Weighing the pros and cons of Skywest vs Compass vs Mesa. All the research I've done just keeps pointing me towards Skywest (stability, growth, pay). Commuting would suck I am sure, but I'd like to think I could suck it up for a short while if it meant my family and I would be better off in the long run. Long as in as long as it takes until one of the big 6 come around.

I am still learning and open for suggestions. :D

^This is some good advice right here. I'll add a bit more to this. If you can afford it, don't commute to your regional job. The QOL improvement in my opinion will far outweigh the (sometimes) lower paycheck that comes with this option.

Another suggestion. What you need to know is how soon can you hold PHX as an FO, and how quickly can you can hold PHX as captain. The second part often gets overlooked.

Skywest posts this information:
Pilot Jobs » SkyWest Airlines

It's one of the most senior bases for both FO and CA.

I don't know how up to date that table is, but if accurate you'd need 1 year of seniority to hold PHX/FO, and a whopping 6 years to hold it as CA. That's a deal breaker in my mind if my goal is to avoid commuting.

It would be worth verifying that information via the forum. That information is also subject to change (for better or worse) if SKW changes how PHX is staffed.

Your ideal no-commute regional needs to have PHX be junior in both FO and CA seats. That way you can get in, fly, upgrade, and move on hopefully before the base seniority changes for the worse.

I’m new to the game, but is this pretty much the reason Mesa is able to hire enough pilots? It seems like there are just way too many pilots living in PHX, and considering the fact that Compass has become much more selective (even notwithstanding its perceived instability), your only real shot at a PHX base as an FO and CA is Mesa. At least as far as regionals.

Mesa's PHX/DFW/IAH bases are their bread and butter. They're easy to hold and you avoid commutes to other airlines' junior FO and CA bases typically known by derogatory names (ORD/EWR/LGA/PHL...)

I wouldn't say they're able to hire enough pilots though. Unless they do it intentionally, Mesa is a pretty short staffed operation. Little to no reserve. 95+ hour lines given to fresh new hires off IOE in IAD. I've read reports that guys in DFW are flying that much too.

Compass was hiring to fill a gap caused by a seven month hiring freeze a couple years ago so they signed up a lot of people, including a bunch of RTP pilots who got through their fixed wing training in one large block which pretty much filled a few months classes. There simply was no possible way to get everyone through training. But attrition is continuing as people move on to the majors and Inwoukd be surprised if they didn't resume hiring at a somewhat reduced rate after the holidays.

Damn those are some really valid points. I never really considered Mesa due to some negative things I've read and issues with their training department. No offence to anyone! I have know idea if there is any truth to any of that.

Are Mesa pilots looked at equally by the majors as pilots from other regionals? I mean, is there any kind of stigma or ??? Again, no offence to anyone, I am just doing some homework.

Your concerns are important to ask. Mesa is on my radar because the desire to be living in Texas all while avoiding a commute after upgrading is pretty strong right now. Mesa is unique in this regard when you consider that DFW and IAH bases are both senior at the other regionals with them.

Unfortunately, Mesa management has built up a bad reputation for their company over the years and that negativity gets passed down to the pilot group.

If you ask me, no, the company doesn't (shouldn't) matter. A Mesa captain is the pilot-in-command of a high performance, 70,000 pound aircraft on which hundreds of people (those on board and their loved ones) are counting on his/her performance and professionalism.

Also unfortunately, I'm not a wizard when it comes to predicting what attributes will get me hired when it's time for me to move on. I also don't know which ones will get me a "thanks but no thanks" letter.