A few Skywest Q's...

OCflyguy88

New Member
Hey all,

I was curious if any Bro drivers out there could shed some light on the schedules? General "fun" factor of the flying, how the trips are built (all early shows, late shows, etc, etc), daily flight time, daily duty time, hotels (nice, bad, really bad), layover cities in general, how long you layover. What are the junior domiciles for both FO and CA spots? Anyone commute/drive from Orange County to the PSP, SAN, SBA, or SBP domiciles? Is it pretty easy? I'd be driving in from the Anaheim/Orange area.

And, if any Bro drivers out there could PM me, I'd like to see if you could send a bid package so I could get a better idea of the type of flying.

Lastly, I'd eventually want to end up in DEN on RJ. I was thinking of staying somewhere junior to DEN and upgrade to start building PIC, then when I can hold DEN CA trasnfer over. My question is, what is the DOH of the junior DEN CA?

Would it be wise to, and this is saying if I got the Bro initially, to upgrade to Bro CA to start building PIC, then when I can hold DEN RJ CA transfer over in however long it takes? My logic behind that would be for building PIC vice sitting around in DEN where I'd really like to be, but as an FO. Yes it is a tradeoff and it's all about QOL (living in DEN would be a dream) but I am from OC and all my family is here so it wouldn't be that bad, and I'd get to DEN sooner or later.

Thanks for the help!

...also... how long is the Bro scheduled to be around? I've heard 3-5 years, but is there even a replacement on the horizon? I couldn't see an RJ operating between LA and SNA or ONT.
 
Fresno has the widest variety of Brasilia flying, and is also the most junior (probably because Fresno is the 7th circle of hell). Local trips to four day trips and everything in between, though three day trips are usually limited. Many of Fresno's trips are commutable on one end, only a few on both ends. It's a maintenance base, so most trips either start quite early, or end quite late.

Most trips pay 4.5-5 an average of 4.5 to 5 hours per day, some pay more, a few pay less. Most of the San Francisco flying is limited to 7 legs a day, occasionally you'll get an 8 leg day out of SFO. Usually it's 4-6 when doing SFO stuff. LAX flying usually has a higher leg count, 6-8, due to the shorter legs.

Nearly all of Fresno's flying is in the Pacific time zone. Only Yuma and St. George are in a different time zone. Our territory covers California, Oregon, and Washington, as well as Las Vegas, Reno, Yuma, and St. George.

I think it's fun flying. The airplane is very fun to fly. Some of the days can get long, but most of the trips I do aren't hard. Personally I get bored of the constant nice weather, but most people probably don't.
 
Hey all,

I was curious if any Bro drivers out there could shed some light on the schedules? General "fun" factor of the flying, how the trips are built (all early shows, late shows, etc, etc), daily flight time, daily duty time, hotels (nice, bad, really bad), layover cities in general, how long you layover. What are the junior domiciles for both FO and CA spots? Anyone commute/drive from Orange County to the PSP, SAN, SBA, or SBP domiciles? Is it pretty easy? I'd be driving in from the Anaheim/Orange area.

And, if any Bro drivers out there could PM me, I'd like to see if you could send a bid package so I could get a better idea of the type of flying.

Lastly, I'd eventually want to end up in DEN on RJ. I was thinking of staying somewhere junior to DEN and upgrade to start building PIC, then when I can hold DEN CA trasnfer over. My question is, what is the DOH of the junior DEN CA?

Would it be wise to, and this is saying if I got the Bro initially, to upgrade to Bro CA to start building PIC, then when I can hold DEN RJ CA transfer over in however long it takes? My logic behind that would be for building PIC vice sitting around in DEN where I'd really like to be, but as an FO. Yes it is a tradeoff and it's all about QOL (living in DEN would be a dream) but I am from OC and all my family is here so it wouldn't be that bad, and I'd get to DEN sooner or later.

Thanks for the help!

...also... how long is the Bro scheduled to be around? I've heard 3-5 years, but is there even a replacement on the horizon? I couldn't see an RJ operating between LA and SNA or ONT.


I know guys have commuted from the LA area to PSP and SAN. Don't know how many go up to the SBA, SMX area. Lots of Fresno flights to and from LAX. So commuting would be possible. When I was in Fresno the schedules varied a lot. 1,2,3 and 4 day trips, some start early and others late. Personally I really liked the Fresno flying. Lots of variety and you could find yourself anywhere from Yuma and San Diego all the way up to Seattle and Spokane. Though I'm not sure if the trips are that still like that.

Layovers vary too. A few are only 9 hours long, though most are from 13 to 18 hours and there are many layover cities. What comes to mind currently to name a few: St George UT, Casper WY, Cody WY, Twin Falls ID, Sun Valley ID, Pocatello ID. These are some in the Cali and Portland systems. Someone who flies there more than I do might have some corrections for me. St George again, Yuma AZ, Orange County, LAX, SFO, Bakersfield, Chico, Redding, Arcata, Medford OR, Redmond OR, Spokane WA. Overnights locations change from time to time.

Though I'm not flying out in California much these days, I still have fun flying.

I don't think it would be unwise to upgrade on the Brasilia before going over to the RJ. PIC is always a good thing and they pay is better than RJ FO. Though as an FO your schedules will be better faster than they will be as Captain.

It is hard to say when the Brasilia will be going away. They have been saying that for years, and while some of the routes have gone to the jet, many are still more efficient and appropriate for a turboprop. I'm sure it will be around for at least a few more years.
 
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