Utah

How long are you willing to sit right seat at SkyWest? We've hired around a 1000 pilots in the last couple years and have nearly 2800 on the seniority list. Without significant growth (which could be announced any minute) the upgrade time could get pushed out well past 3 years. One of the reasons you heard of really quick upgrades here earlier in the year was that many of the pilots didn't meet upgrade minimums.

If I were in your shoes I'd stay at Mesaba, upgrade and then move on. Good QOL/regional pay doesn't go very far once you have a wife and family.

ChinookDriver47

Is 3 years considered a long wait in the regional line?

BoilerUP

To a good chunk of "Generation ME!" its about 18-24 months too long...

boilerpilot

Um, isn't there a $12,000 training bond at Mesaba?

Cessnadriver

There used to be a training contract, but there isn't anymore. In fact for some odd reason, they made a point of specifically telling us that there was no contract when we were hired.

Pilotpip

I don't really see it as a lateral move if your QOL improves. You gotta look out for your best intrests. Skywest is a good company, and it's where you want to be. Send your stuff in and interview. The worst that happens is they turn you down again and you stay at Mesaba. If six months of seniority isn't important to you (right now it's not a big deal but if the industry takes a huge dump again it could mean everything) then why even question it?

flynavyj

well it's definitely not an easy choice...but if you're ultimate goal is to get to Denver, you might be happier getting to denver in the best fashion possible...There's never any guarantee that you'll get United, but the odds of you getting it are better in the short term than the long term. I'd say stick it out at mesaba, upgrade, get that PIC, then start throwing out applications. Heck, throw em out early. It'd be better to be at united, or even frontier at based out of denver, than to be at skywest and based out of denver...despite how good of an airline skywest is.

It kinda seems like "gratification now" or "gratification later" with sticking it out at mesaba = later....i think you're ultimate enjoyment will be in the latter phase also.

norskman2

Kudos to you for being willing to consider a career at SkyWest, and not being afflicted by SMS (Shiny Majors Syndrome).

A few things to consider:

- At Mesaba, you have one of the most precious and sought-after commodities: the fast upgrade. Don't give it up lightly. Think of all the poor guys at Horizon, Eagle and pre-2007 Mesaba who had 6-7+ year upgrades.

- DEN? What about Frontier? You say you're willing to consider SLC, that adds DAL to the mix. SWA's new LAS base would be an easy commute from DEN as well.

- Why wait 5 years? You'll likely upgrade within 1 at Mesaba, another 1-1.5 years and you've got your 1000TPIC and could apply for UAL, Frontier, or DAL

Good luck with your decision.

Slice

Are you single? If so, move to your domicile. I'd stay at Mesaba. TPIC is king and by the time you would get hired at Skywest and start class you're giving up more than 6 months seniority. Sacrifice QOL now for the TPIC. It will give you more options...especially if the industry tanks again. There's going to be a lot of guys stuck in RJ's.

Cessnadriver

I'm single right now, so a move would be relatively easy. I guess the issue was that if I moved to MSP, I would be at the bottom of the seniority list in a senior base vs being in MKE, which is a junior SkyWest base. On the other hand, I was under the impression that Skywest was a 1-1.5 year upgrade for those who had the hours and were in a junior base. It seems like this is not the case right now based on what I'm hearing

I guess it comes down to whether or not I would want to make a career at SkyWest. If I plan to go on to a larger airline, Mesaba seems to be the way to go, even if I have to commute or move. It seems like the general consensus is that I should get my PIC time ASAP at Mesaba, then check out Frontier of United.

So the question, is if I am looking strictly at quality of life and discounting earnings, would I be best off pursuing Frontier, Delta or United as a Denver or SLC based pilot (Senior bases), or would I be better off as a very Senior pilot at SkyWest?