I deliberated pretty heavily between the two initially. I had some pretty specific circumstances / family needs at the time and made my choice accordingly. I got what I needed out of the situation and am able to look further down the road now career / base option wise. Dont regret going where i did, but do have more freedom now.

 

I left the worst airline that I know of, which will remain nameless, and went to Skywest. It is such an improvement. They treat me with respect and do not spend all of their time trying to figure out how to cheat me out of every penny I earned. I can pickup trips and they actually pay me for them.
At my last airline it was the bait and switch. They would call me for a 10 hour 2 day trip but when I called them back it would be fly to Saint Louis, spend the night, deadhead back the next afternoon. I would say I'm not spending 2 day to get 1 hour and 40 minutes of flying and they would say, "But it's time and a half!"
At my last airline I volunteered to sit airport reserve on my days off because the company had no pilots on reserve. It pays 5/day. On the last day of the month the Chief Pilot called to yell at me that if I wanted to fly I could put myself on the volunteer list but I could not sit airport reserve. I responded that I was not going to sit reserve for free. He knew I lived close to the airport and figured they would have me for free. Next day they called me 22 times (voice mail) needing me to fly a three leg trip. They ended up having to cancel all 3 flights because of no pilots. I wonder what that cost them?
I highly recommend going to Skywest to anyone, even if you are a captain at my old airline.
Don't be afraid to switch from crap to a good airline.

 

XJ?

Filler....

 

thats good to hear. Skywest is where im thinking to go...

 

Been a good choice for me so far. Had the option to go to Compass as well but it came down to choices of base. Both seemed like pretty decent options. There's a lot of movement in the bases, and you can pretty much get to any within six months of starting, most in less time. If you do end up here do not choose the 175, and pretty much everyone in the SkyWest thread will agree; you'll never fly.

 

I left Mesa for SkyWest as soon as I satisfied my training note last fall. Mostly because I live in a SkyWest base. It wasn't an easy decision for me, but SKYW's pay improvements over the last year made it easier. $36.50/hr + $7500 signing bonus + better soft pay = 1st yr pay around $45k

My Mesa classmates are all hitting their 1000 hrs and starting to upgrade, which is causing me to second-guess my decision a little lately, but overall, it's been a good decision.

I do miss the crews at Mesa--equal parts great people, Stockholm Syndrome, and misery loves company, I guess! :lol:

SkyWest isn't without its warts, though; it's a huge company compared to Mesa, and it's been tough to connect with people here the way I did at Mesa. My newhire class here had 63 people, vs 19 at Mesa. As a result, I only got to know MAYBE a dozen of my classmates well. And they are in desperate need of a union here; I've experienced a lot of stuff that was never a problem at Mesa simply because we had a contract.

Good luck with your decision and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

Does changing regional airlines have any negative impacts on gaining a position at a major. I suppose you could just explain your situation in an interview. Someone told me the other day that switching around is not good for your overall career.

 

Majors dont care... And class sizes are smaller now. Instead of 70 once a month, there 35 every 2 weeks..

 

If you were going to change regionals I would look at the following...
1. Flow. Yeah we get it flow may or may not work... we've beat that to death. But wouldnt going to a regional with the chance that flow does work be better than going to one without that option if you're going to be doing the same thing at both regionals anyways?

2. Upgrade time. Being a captain isnt important but the money that comes with it sure is!

3. Quality of life. Chose a regional thats growing like crazy, little reserve time, close to where you want to live.

My top 3 choices would be
1.Piedmont - Fastest flow out of all 3 american regionals, most growth, quick ca upgrade... as soon as you have the time. contract allows for TONS of money above that horrible hourly rate.
2.Compass - all those guys and gals seem really happy. quick upgrade and west coast being junior is really nice. Delta backed so probably will be around a long time. Upgrade is getting longer there so I'd go quick.
3.Commut Air - interview with united could be good but tons of growth in the mean time. Ca upgrade will be coming down. Small family feel airline so youd get to know your fellow crewmembers. People that go there seem to love it!

Places I'd avoid.
1. Skywest. Long upgrade, no contract for protection. (Though their size is appealing for safety)
2. Envoy. That seems like a mess with old flow and new flow and longest flow time with the new american deal. ca upgrade is way too long. pilots seem bitter.
3. Endeavor. Really? That signing bonus? And the pilots dont realize how badly they're getting worked over by management. Besides, anyone who does math will realize you can basically make what you're making at Endeavor by going to Piedmont, Compass, or maaaybe Comut Air... Hence why they're my top three.

 

^SkyWest long upgrade?? Its below 3 years and we go from 45 Erj's to 104 in the next 12 months. Funny in 1999 5+year upgrade was normal. Now everyone is complaining its not 2 months.... Its all about QOL... And were you want to live..