And what are you making Mr. Bigshot?
Listen, you make a statement talking about how much Skywest has in the bank. Despite the money they have in the bank their pilots are hardly raking in the dough and have little more than most other groups to show for their hard work. So, if I was flying a 70+ people around and my company had 700 million in the bank while I could just afford to support my family as a Captain and an FO making enough for a bachelor to get by on I'd say that there is a problem.
How exactly do you define success? Is it how much your company has in the bank? Or is it how much you have in your pocket? For me I'd like to see both succeeding, in their case I believe it is skewed toward the company's side. The company has made out like bandits flying 70+ seaters around while keeping pay rates low.
Believe me I would love to see Skywest or any other operator get higher pay for these larger RJs. If you're making roughly the same as I am, while I fly 50 pax around, I don't want anyone thinking that I'm overpaid because I am far from it. I am underpaid, my FOs are underpaid and those doing even more work, assuming more responsibility flying more pax around for what I'm making are even more underpaid and deserve higher salaries.
I'm not sure what your background is, but reading your signature it looks like you're relatively new to the industry. Under 1000hrs and flying 121, fine, kudos. Just realize that there are guys with plenty more time invested and experience for which 80k/yr is not that much money. And to answer your question, I'll have made approx 83k this year 4th yr captain, 50seats.
Here is an excerpt from another site, it confirms that there are people there who realize what is going on.
"First let’s be clear, Skywest is not the same airline I hired on with a decade ago. I have watched year after year as management has reduced the benefits of this job while stacking large sums of money into the company coffers. They also paid $400,000,000.00 cash for another airline that they would later use to whipsaw against the pilots that helped raise this money in the first place. How’s that for thanks?! Skywest started out seemingly doing the right thing by its pilots a decade ago. We find ourself in a very different place today, especially the last six years.
Skywest Inc made over $150,000,000.00 dollars NET PROFIT last year alone and yet they still nickel and dime the employees while at the same blowing the “we have to be competitive” bugle because “we are skating on thin ice here.” Its just plane ridiculous and insulting. They don’t think I listen to the conference calls where they gloat to the investment community about having the best balance sheet in the industry and and the lowest costs with a "union free" work force that loves them, or that I can read the annual report? They have the president of ILFC, the largest aircraft lease company in the world on their board of directors cutting industry leading rates. They prepay on their engine overhauls a year or more in advance to reduce profit sharing money. They have benefited from some good strategic decisions and even they will admit a fair bit of luck. Keep in mind Jerry was originally against regional jets and had to be talked into it by RR. The point to all this is that Skywest for a variety of reasons has competitive advantages beyond the “industry average” wages Jerry told us were the new direction we were going after voting down Alpa in 1999. During this drive he said we would be at or above the top. ASA will not go broke with the wages they just received. Skywest will continue to make more money than they have ever made even if they paid the pilots of Skywest ten percent more, which is what we should have got after a stalled and bad faith bargained pay agreement
Back to your question though, how does Skywest compare to other regionals? Id say measuring today at this very moment they are right in the middle and quickly sliding towards the bottom. Moral at Skywest is at all time lows based on the guys I have flown with and the comments I have heard. The growth at the regionals is going to slow down across the board other than like what just happened two days ago, exchanging for a few more seats on a handful of airframes. The majors are relatively happy with the number of regional units they have deployed now and the market will stay pretty much the same over the next several years. If the work rules suck and the almighty growth can’t be sold by management to take its place it’s going to get ugly. I know you want to believe that Skywest is like the old Skywest but it is not. I likely won’t be at Skywest this time next year but that doesn’t stop me from fighting the good fight for those that will be. The buck stops here. Let’s get on with it."