One list SkyWest Inc.
 

Yes / No ? And why ?

Let's hear it..

Personally, I believe it would make more sense to have one list down the road. With base / eqpt fences for both sides of the house first 5 years ..

303

Bwahahahahahaaa! Good luck with that.

Just some advice, from having gone through a one list at the regional level.......

1. Don't agree to binding arbitration. Either your groups agree together or you two remain separate. PERIOD.

2. Go with DOH with a operational fence to prevent movement across certificates right away. Maybe a 2-3 year fence allowing only movement within the same airline.

3. DO NOT elect old lifers on your seniority integration team. You'd be surprised just how quickly your airline pilot group would be sold out to protect the most senior.

4. Don't agree to binding arbitration. No good comes out of letting a geriatric lawyer decide your fate.

5. See tips #1-#4 above.

I only see this happening if there is no union.

I only see this happening if we have one, Inc, in house (no ALPA) union...

Five year fences at least. SKW is somewhat junior to other two, so the fences are not going to be optional. But they should have no problem with that unless they want "all your base are belong to us".

If SKW pilots elect ALPA, there will be an automatic forced integration.

Other than that, it would require consensus all around, including SGU. Actually in theoretical world, SGU and ALPA could come to agreement and force it on the SKW pilot group but that's not really going to happen.

SGU doesn't want one list.

NO!

I applied to, interviewed with, and accepted a job at Skywest. Had I wanted to fly for ASA I would have gone there.

Seperate and equal is just fine.

But that's the problem...separate does not guarantee equal.

I think we should do one list with fences to protect current reasonable career expectations (such as they are). One list will protect us from possible future whipsaw.

...not just possible whipsaw. It will happen!

Separate and equal! Heh, what an idiot!

Tell that to the ASA pilots who were forced to move from SLC. Tell that to the XJT pilots who were forced out of IAH. Tell that to the SKYW pilots who had to move from ORD... Oh wait...

So Inc. closed SLC, big deal. For us they closed ATL, MKE, SAN, CLD, SMF, SBA and downsized DEN, ORD, TUS and FAT; all in the last 4ish years.

I'm for one list with no more than 2-3 year fences if any at all and no displacements due to seniority. If there's a vacancy you can bid for it but you cannot displace another pilot. Also no DOH even though it would work just fine for me, percentage based SLI so relative seniority is unchanged. Keep DOH for benefits.

But then again I don't really care one way or the other, I'm not staying.

What he said. No less than 5 year fences though. And to my expressjet brother, stop crying. You think I'm happy den is downsizing and thanks to UAL rewarding ASE flying to republic Im back on rsv.. Nature of the game

Nevermind...

not to sure how Jr Skyw is to XJT

NO!!! I worked hard and waited a painfully long time to get here. I could have gone to ASA or Expressjet loooong before I got the job at Skywest. If we were to integrate that would be all for nothing and I couldn't be sure the person I'm flying with had same intense interview and high standards I was held to... This is not to say that the rest of the Inc. guys aren't equally or more qualified, but watching someone who got into XJ or ASA with 500hrs walk right into my position and go right above me would be complete bull@#$#!!!

Yup 1000tt pattern work makes all the difference. He does not speak for me.

I still have yet to meet anyone hired here with 1000tt. There were only 12 in my class, all had prior 121 or military experience and all either held an ATP or were qualified for and earned it during the checkride. Meanwhile there are 1yr XJ guys still can't qualify for their ATP during recurrent.

Aren't the upgrade times on the jets all pretty close?

Hey bro, this is your best Anna pic yet!!:D

Mbur, likewise .. I'm just saying. G-code, I'm guessing 5-7 years at SkyWest ..

1 list. DOH. No ALPA. No displacements. 2 year fences min., then anyone can bid any vacancy.

And Mbur, I was pretty average in my class, 2900tt, ATP, former single pilot 135. Most had 121 time.

I'd vote for that. 5 year fence though. Sky(West) was my nr1 choice for a reason..

Here's my question: What is in it for me and my company? Let's be perfectly honest here: ExpressJet is heavy on crummy domiciles and dead-end equipment. Unless UAL/CAL approve an expanded scope agreement, there is no replacing the 145's. SKYW has been pretty smart about covering their costs and making sure their flights make money. Eventually the massive losses will catch up, and at the end of the day, XJT (not necessarily the CRJ side) is costing INC money. Don't be fooled, despite the continual yelling of the vocal minority, we're overall pretty happy for a regional airline at SkyWest. Could things be improved? Always. But when it comes down to it, we really don't have an incredibly acrimonious relationship with mgmt, and we don't want ALPA on property. We don't want DTW, CLE, or EWR. We know a lot of people at XJT want LAX, SFO, DEN, PDX, SEA and SLC.

At the end of the day, our major partners decide who will do what flying. But having a single seniority list won't help me maintain my position in DEN. I won't be convinced that a single seniority list is best for this company until someone definitively answers how it will improve lives on both sides of the proverbial fence, and not just for XJT.

Indeed, "nature of the game". I wonder how many AWAC pilots were happy when SkyWest was awarded ORD/DEN flying during UAL's BK? That's just ONE example.

If you expect sympathy because your base in downsizing and sliding you down to reserve, do you feel the SAME sympathy for ANY pilot that slid down/got displaced/furloughed due to the mainline partner doing the "regional shuffle" and it befitted SkyWest?

Is that what the financials say?

Absolutely I do bro. Absolutely. That could be me

Electra,

I am with ya. Cutting traing cost, middle mgmt etc etc would benefit our shareholders and our bottom line. SkyWest needs to remember who made them Skywest though.

My original post is probably not coming off the way I intended it to, I certainly meant no disrespect to the rest of the Inc. family. I was simply stating that I could have been in either of those companies long before OO and with much less experience. I had my reasons for picking Sky(west) as well and would hate to see my effort wasted. I know there a lot of other pilots out there with FAR greater concerns right now and even if this integration were to happen it would be a minuscule injustice compared to what has been happening recently in the industry.

+1

It's been a regional pilot's problem long before you probably got hired. Bases get downsized, based close, displacements happen.

Get used to it.

"One Super Regional" doesn't mean it's gonna be super for employees.

While EVERYBODY is getting all spun up over fences, etc, has ANYBODY contacted their reps about all this talk of putting the nuclear powered super efficient vehicle before the horse cart? Might surprise some as to what ACTUALLY went down when the topic was brought up. Others, not at all.

If not, do it.

Bottom line, if by some reason JA sees a financial benefit to going "one list", he'll push for it.

303, whether you want to admit it or not, MatchPoint is 100% correct. Arm chair CEO pilots like to think they run the airline, NOTHING could be farther from the truth. At the regional level, the pilot group usually has the largest numbers, besides the highest payroll costs. The pilots are also NOTHING but labor. Labor with the highest line item costs is the bane of managements existence.

If it doesn't make sense to you now, just wait till your first downgrade/displacment/pay cut/furlough, or ALL 4 at one time. Because at that point, it will become PAINFULLY clear. You make think your exempt from all those. But sadly, especially at the regional level, it's turning into a "those that have, and those that will" scenario. Even though those items are FAR from unique to just the regionals.

I'm a relatively new hire at SkyWest and I would vote NO for one list because ultimately it will mean a union. I've been in the 121 world over 5 years and on my second 121 carrier after being furloughed from the first. The union at my first did little for me. Any grievance I had took years to settle, I just got one settled a few months back for $35 that took about 3 years to settle. A contract means nothing. You get legal protections sure, but what does that mean? $35 after 3 years but they took 2% of my salary each year. We are shackled by the RLA and can do nothing about it.

When I joined SkyWest I knew it had no union. In my time here I have been treated with much more respect by management than I was with my prior union carrier, I make more money, I have more time off and my health benefits are significantly better. While there is still animosity between the pilot group and management it is no where near as bad as with my union carrier. Management and the pilots work together to determine 'policies' that work for both groups. Because of the dynamics of the relationship between management and the pilot group it seems to work. The dynamics I am talking about are that we the pilots know that if the company wants something legally they can just implement it where as the company knows that if they impose unfavorable policies on the pilot group we will instantly vote in a union. It appears as a good balance and doesn't seem to breed the company union animosity found at my previous union carrier.

I will say that I've not been here long enough to see the slow erosion of working conditions and health benefits I hear others talk of. However I'm new enough that I can see the company has done alright by me so I'm not willing to rock the boat. However the first time I feel I'm being taken advantage of i will vote in the union in a heart beat.

One final reason behind separate lists is a purely selfish reason. I live in the west. I've been in the industry 5 years and here for a little less than 2. Those hired at ASA and express jet between 2007 and 2011 living west coast will affect me being able to hold potential upgrade and transition spots I have my eye on in the west.

Having said all that if someone can give me a list of solid reasons other than the pilot group will be bigger, more unified and be able to stuff it to management more easily then I'd be open to one list but that decision must be based on sound logic and not political rhetoric which we should all be bored of by now.

Airfix

Oh, so you didn't have the standard status quo 30 question written test with an essay question, a cognitive speed test, technical interview, HR interview, and the sim eval in a full motion 737-200 sim on Day 2 ...... :rolleyes:

Wake up to the realities of this industry. If you don't merge lists, you will be used to whipsaw fellow pilots

That should either disgust you or be a non issue for you, the choice will say a lot about you. You don't want to be a management pawn in a whipsaw.

One list, only for job protection and whipsaw prevention. You can have unlimited fences...I don't care. I'm just tired of INC transferring airframes from East to West and all we get is "thanks for all you do."

With one list, you can move planes around but pilots go too.

In 2008 the XJT MEC had a plan that would have appeased management's desire to keep Skywest non-union and three separate lists while getting rid of the whipsaw possibilities. They said hell no. In other words, it wasn't about unions. It was only about the keeping the threat of a whipsaw as a viable alternative. That told me all I needed to know about Inc management.

I believe that there is a clause that stats that if L-XJT pilots get whipsawed and end up having to move to SkyWest, we move over with longevity.

Then give longevity to all of the pilots who came to SKW after slugging it out at a bottom feeder. XJT guys keep quoting this clause but how is it even close to enforceable?

Hi Chip. Nice job on the American CPA, BTW. ...Thanks for all you do!