Junior FOs in ATL...
 

Can any junior ATL FOs share what life is like there? Specifically...

1. If you had to sit reserve for a month or two, what was the schedule like? How much flying did you actually get?
2. What do the schedules look like for junior FO line holders in ATL? Typical number of days off? Can you fly your a$$ off if you want? Can you maximize time off if you want?
3. Currently all -200 flying I assume? Is ATL flying increasing, decreasing, or holding flat right now?

I'm former Navy F-18, getting back into flying after a long time out of the cockpit. Live about 1:20 outside ATL, and am currently deciding between SKW and a good 135 operation to build quality recency (no commute, no reserve, better pay & benefits, no double occupancy). The SKW folks at the interview, while excellent, couldn't offer much insight into the lay of the land in ATL.

Thanks for any insights.

I haven't been base in ATL, so I can't say much on what schedules end up looking like, but from what I have heard, the amount of flying we have in ATL should remain about the same for a while.

http://www.skywest.com/fly-skywest-airlines/skywest-airlines-route-map/

Just look at that. Mostly 2 day and 4 day trips. Some locals..

That doesn't show what base is doing the city pair??

For AUG the ATL bid pairings are approx. 72% 4 day trips, 22% 3 day trips the rest a mix of 2 days, locals and stand-ups.

1> 13 days off.
2> For AUG the junior F/O's had 85-90 hrs and 12 days off. <Most likely yes> <most likely no>.
3>All CRJ200.

Get current and up to speed if you've not sat in a cockpit for some time.

With your experience I would take the 135 gig. A legacy will scoop you up in no time.

FWIW I am former mil (C-17). It took me approximately 20 months from my date of hire at SkyWest to my start date at my dream job this Oct. A guy in my SkyWest class was a former Marine F-18 guy and he has had a hard time getting picked up at his employer of choice due to lack of hours. Apparently marine fighter guys don't fly as much? So make sure you look at your competitiveness at the major you wish to land at. The RST's on facebook are a good place to start to get an idea of what type of mil backgrounds are getting picked up. Military certainly gives you a leg up but contrary to popular opinion on here it is not a for sure thing call as soon as you are current. At least not in my case, serious networking was required and I was lucky that my employer of choice called, but no one else has called, except Frontier, but I figure that one doesn't count with all that is going on there. With that said my military career was not exactly on track to be a General, pretty much just a career crew dog with one failed checkride. ;)

Do you guys know if the 175 will go to ATL in the future ?

I wouldn’t bid the ERJ based on it... very doubtful in the next year... After that the regional industry is to hard to predict..

Thanks ,

Former Marine F/A-18 pilot here, been at SKW almost two years, so can hopefully help a little bit.

1. Reserve.... There are 102 FOs on the CRJ at ATL. About 80% of them are line holders. 20% are reserve. Your time on reserve as a new hire depends on how rapidly people ahead of you leave or the company expands or shrinks the domicile. Most factors are beyond your control. All things being equal, your seniority will rise most rapidly at a large base with a majority of pilots commuting.

2. Schedules... it depends on what you want and what the people ahead of you bid. You can work as much as you want within reason and 117 limits. A larger domicile generally helps getting the days on and days off that you want. Commuters generally bid three or four day trips and avoid locals. If you live locally at a commuter base, you could probably get the locals you want. I did this as a new FO and had good schedules and QOL very early on.

3. ATL growth... ATL is a new base, so it was expanding very rapidly from zero to over 100 last year. It might have reached its full staffing by now, but I do not know for sure. If the majority of the pilots at ATL are commuters, expect a huge turnover. See pt. 1.

Others have commented on the military vs. civilian hiring at the majors. Regionals are what you make of it. Overall I am very happy at SKW, because I choose to be happy. If I ever do get a phone call from a major, great. If not, I'm going to enjoy flying the CRJ and will try to make SKW the best place it can be within my abilities. Whatever you decide to do, best of luck, and have fun where you are at. Life is too short to wast it being miserable.