RAH or SKYWEST Best Choice?
 

Seem like pretty comparible companys where would you go - I live in Orlando Fl as of now -is commuting a reality in todays world to any of RAH or SKW bases. Ive been in the Corprate world and just dont wanna make the wrong choice in companys. With the hr requirements these regionals out there list today , I feel as I should be able to go anywhere I want.

I was an intern at SkyWest back in '05. They've got to be one of the nicest bunch of folks (relatively speaking) around. But i've got a buddy at Chataqua in BUF and he says that its one of the places that you would be proud to work at. I think either would be a fine choice, i'll soon be having to make that exact same decision.

of course both companies have their negativity. As far as bases go, i'm piedmont so i couldn't comment on that.

Doesn't get better than SKW in the Regional world...:D

This seems like an appropriate time to restart the SkyWest MCO domicile rumor.

Depends on who ya talk to ;)

Every carrier has an MCO rumor. Even if you guys DO get an MCO base (I'm guessing for DAL) it'll only last a couple years max. They like to cycle regionals in and outta there.

I'm an MCO-STL commuter. It's actually been the easiest commute I've ever experienced (3rd base is the charm). I have yet to get bumped, miss a flight, or really spend any significant time in STL. I've bought two hotel rooms the entire time I've been there because of the way I wanted my schedule to work but most people can avoid spending a single night there. If you were to pull the CHQ cert on the 145...STL is where it's at for commuters.

How about this:

Neither.

Growth is amazing at both of these places right now, but it's resulting in a large pilot list at both places.

I predict that places with big lists are gonna stagnate on their upgrade times, particularly with age 65 being tossed into the mix.

I'd be interested to hear anyone else's opinion on this.

depends on what is happening upstream. If pilots leave above you to the majors faster, then things are good. The 65 run will affect exactly ONE pilot in all of RAH at the moment...

No, it involves all of them.

Your captains move on to the majors due to retirements at the majors. Fewer retirements at the big guys means fewer regional captains moving on means a longer time as a regional FO.

Going to work at an airline with a smaller pilot group might help you hedge your bets a but when selecting a regional to work for.

Here's an example....a few months back, two co-workers left for regional jobs....one to ExpressJet and the other to TSA. At the time, everyone was happy for the XJT person and asked the TSA person if he was "sure he wanted to go there."

The TSA one is a couple of months from upgrading and the other is still sitting reserve in ONT.

I why do you think that is at TSA... i know guys who left TSA for RAH because of the crappy working conditions.... to each his own.

I bet old J.S. is just tickled to come back.. most PIT FO's are not so tickled about his potential return

I'd be a captain at this point if I'd stayed at TransMistakes. Heck, I'd be pretty close to holding a line as a CA. I'd still rather be sitting in the right seat at CHQ.

I'm not positive but I think he means MCI for Midwest.

Wouldn't matter what PIT FO's think...since he already left he can't just come back as a PIT CA. The law was very specific, if you've already left you can't just walk back into your old seniority number. You gotta start out as a brand new 1st year FO. I don't see a lotta guys doing that...

I don't know how the MCI rumor would help the original poster who lives in MCO...but fair enough.

I's and O's are next to eachother on the QWERTY keyboard...could have been a typo is all...

hell with their attrition you'd the be Chief Pilot at TransVestates! But yeah I too am much happier sitting in the right seat at CHQ than in the left seat beeing junior manned every other trip at TSA!

Some would say "get ur PIC and get out"....but there are many angles.....you have to see what's best for you and your family at the time ur applying.

Many of my buds (both low and high time) don't mind going to a regional that has massive pilot group and a long upgrade because they figure that they're still young and will make it to the majors 'one day' ,and, when they get there still have enough time for at least 30yrs mainline.

Others (both low and high time) who want to get to a major quickly want to go somewhere where they feel they will get a quick upgrade, as a long stint at a regional is not an option for them. With this option many have to trade off pay & QOL

There are so many different opinions floating around on this site, and although i respect all of them, everyone is different, and everyone's situation is different.

One person might put up with getting pushed around by his/her company cos he feels obtaining PIC is the golden time,.......well o.k for them....what? I'm supposed to be mad at him/her?..... another might say...'I don't need this $h!t' i'd rather wait it out somewhere else and take longer to get to a major, than stay here'.......again...what? I'm supposed to laugh at them and say 'I'm gonna be in the majors before you?'

again....so many angles and so many opinions....remember though that the one that matters is your's and your family's

just my $0.02

Not really. In theory 65 could allow more to stay at the majors so there could be less attrition which would slow things down. However I think that happening is a long shot.

my question is: what are you flying in the corporate world? If you are on a turbine powered aircraft and flying a decent amount, then stay where you are. You could skip the regionals and go straight to a major. Or...Have you ever thought about fractionals. A choice between SkyWest, Chautauqua, or NetJets is a no brainer.

I have to support that one. If you do not qualify for a major at present time and is already working for a corporate something - stay there! The regionals will shrink to unforseen numbers and the majors are focusing on bigger aircraft and leave the ****ty routes to the LCC's. Take a good look at the big picture and it is obvious. The delays we are experiencing right now will be solved with bigger planes and the suffering player will be the regionals. DAL is already cutting back their outsourcing to the regionals and others will follow, this is in the best interest of the investors, the unions, the pilots (but not all), as well as our customers, hence another no brainer.

laughing at viking.......if you think they will give up their major feeder routes served by "jet carrier affiliates".... think again. Everybody thought small jets would be the demise of the smaller carriers......wrong again.... scopes will change yet again..... because one thing Viking is correct about is that the major /legacy carriers wont to focus on the long haul routes and international routes they still must have the feed.... and Delta and United etc... are NOT going to be feed by JET BLUE etc.... scopes will eek up yet again. As for the reduction in flying, certainly they will cut out the feeds which arent not profitable..... that hasnt changed in 30 years. airlines have always moved capacity around even in the small markets since the advent of the feeder carriers.

I'm still betting that in 10-15 years we will see what we call "majors" flying primarily international and transcon operations. They will outsource most if not all of their domestic feed to "jet carrier affiliates." Whether they do it as direct feed with the same colors on the tail or as a "codeshare" to get around scope, its going to happen. The domestic market is not profitable at the cost structure legacy carries operate in the long term. Of course, I also think SWA is going to be in big trouble in 10-15 as well.

Exactly! Mainline is aggressively trying to limit their own exposure to domestic flying and concentrate on the big $$$ oceanic travelers. Believe it or not its not the average economy passenger that make the money for the majors, its the business and first class folks. Its THIS market that they are aggessively going after.

Further evidenced by the fact that very few Major carriers are ordering short to medium-haul aircraft...for a not-so-gracefully aging national fleet.

and why they are contracting more and more of their domestic flying to JET AFFILIATES.

Well when I brought it up, I meant MCO. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. And I proofread to boot!

Thanks for proving me right...I appreciate it.

Corprate Flying Sucks!! Fractionals I hear are somewhat better but a 2 man Flight dept. like I am in now blows. Im flying a Sabreliner 65 so the airplane is OK but just fed up with working with the same old fart that thinks hes the Sabre God-He has 10,000 hrs in a sabreliner and couldnt shoot a raw data app. at flight safety ,:mad:pitiful:mad: if you ask me, yet hes the one thats supposedly in charge.Im a single guy so the familly thing is really not a big deal-Would like to still live in FL thoe but probally not gonna work out that way.

Really appreciate everyones help!

JetJock, have you checked out Spirit? They seem to be hiring fairly aggressively right now, and with lower mins than you might think (2000TT / 250ME). That's just what they publish, but with your jet time your probably failry appealing to them, especially if you've done a lot of international ops. If nothing else, they're worth the look and you can stay in south FL.

Yea have done probally 50% of my flying back and forth from the states to central america-thanks for the heads up on that one

If you still want to take a chance in the regional world, I say the best pick between RAH and SKW is the one that hires you first. Both have their advantages and disavantages, but in the end both companies provide an adequate quality of life. As an RAH driver myself, I will say that we still have a decent growth forecast, we are understaffed and trying to fix it, we have an average FO payscale, we have captain wages that you could live off of in the short term, and a payscale that you could make a decent living off of if you decide to stay here as a career, or if the mainline hiring future decides it for you. You will be at the bottom of a pretty long seniority list, but your guess is as good as mine as to how long it would take a new hire to upgrade. Currently we only have a 4 year FO payscale, but that was negotiated as such because at the time, there was zero need for anything longer. No one has had to be an FO for longer than 3 years here... those who have stayed FO's have done it by choice. In our next contract the FO payscale will be extended to cover the reality of longer FO stints. The biggest problem our company has right now is growth. We are growing fast, and fast ourgrowing our management structure. Our leaders have to make the big choice of trying to continue operations with our old structure and support staff levels (which are adequate for a 1 time zone, 600 pilot operation), or dish out some money and hire more staff in HQ and reorganize the chains of command. Looks like our leaders are opting to hire and restructure, which is encouraging. No doubt we fell on our faces last year because we didn't have enough button pushers behind the curtain, but top management actually listened to that wake up call, and are improving things slightly faster than you might expect.
Good life at RAH, SKW may be equal or better... don't know cuz I never worked there. You won't do much better though if you play regional roulette.