Hey all, I'm trying to better understand life at Skywest in the first year for FOs. I realize that mileage may vary. Assume living in base.

How full are the schedules?
Is it mostly 4 day trips with 4 leg days?
Do you have any stretches of decent time off, say like 5 to 7 days or are all trips bunched together?
Is there high attrition going on, or are people sticking around?
Are FOs earning $80k to $90k in year 1?

Thank you for sharing.

 

It really depends on where you are based, but if I were brand new, I would find a "bidding expert" to help give you advice on bidding. I have talked to several newer FOs that complained about their schedule when flying with me, and when I asked how they bid, they were literally bidding the opposite of what they wanted.
There is attrition going on at all regionals, SkyWest isn't immune, the amount varies per month. A year 1 FO should not have any issues making 80-90k in their first year, especially if you pick up some open time trips at double/triple time.

 

You can make them as full as you want. As for days off, My line last month gave me 6 days off in a row. Know how to bid, people can help. $100K+ is possible year 1 if you work your a** off. I’m very much on track for that right now.

 

It depends on base and aircraft, but in general, Reserve FOs will work 18-19 days a month, usually receiving 3 days off in between reserve blocks. Once a lineholder, you will average about 14-16 days of work each month. It varies based on what you bid and what you are awarded.

It completely depends on how you bid. We have 1-day, 2-day, 3-day, 4-day and stand-ups. Sometimes people that live close to the airport bid for 1-day trips so they are home every night. Sometimes pilots that live farther away might choose to bid for 4-day trips to minimize the number of times they have to drive or fly in. There's something for everybody. As for legs in a day, that can vary from 1-5 legs a day. 3-4 legs a day is the most common in the 175.

You can definitely get stretches of 5-7 days off, at least once a month, once you are a lineholder. And the more senior you get, the more control you have over your schedule. Life as an FO is really good right now, for CAs, not so much. But keep in mind that things can and will change in this industry. What is happening today may not be happening tomorrow.

High attrition. Lots of people are moving on to other airlines.

Absolutely.

 

Thanks for the in depth details, I appreciate it. I live in Salt Lake and would hope to get that base. Plus I have been part of the cadet program for 3 years, but I'm not sure what the true benefits are as far as getting a base. Naturally, I would want to have SLC as my base.

 

You will not have a problem getting assigned SLC either immediately, or soon after training. SLC is very junior for both ERJ and CRJ on the First Officer side.

The cadet program gives you higher seniority within your training class, allowing you to bid before them for bases. Essentially, you get first pick over others in your class for base and Simulator training time-slots. Also, your company seniority started when you first became a cadet, so things like your travel benefits will show an activation date of 3 years ago, versus others who are not cadets will have an activation date coinciding with the start of their ground school. This will give you better chances of getting on flights with standby and jumpseat privileges.

 

Oh, that's good to hear. Thanks for the comment.

 

Great info above, an additional thing your cadet time will give you is the ability to bid vacation sooner, receive profit sharing sooner (don’t get too excited, it’s not much)…but these things add up. I calculated that if taking full advantage of the cadet program, the direct financial incentives add up to around $2,800 dollars. Not a lot, but free money nonetheless.

Super easy to hold SLC as a FO. As a CA, it is crazy senior and it will take years and years to hold a good line as a CA. But, truth be told, you should be gone by then unless there is a downturn.

 

Thank you. I will be applying soon and hope to get an interview. I hear they are generally 2 to 3 hours long.

 

For the interview, 3 hours is allotted. My interview lasted around 90 mins from hello to goodbye. I'd say others were around the same or perhaps upwards of 2 hours. Never take any interview for granted of course, but in general it was very straight forward. Be prepared to answer a few TMAAT questions, why SkyWest, be able to give some good overviews on turbine engines, swept-wings, maybe some basic systems theory, and be pretty smart on your IFR knowledge. And most importantly of all, show that you're someone they could get along with for 4 days in the flight deck. If you can do all of the above, things will go well. Best wishes and do well!