SkyWest RJ class

EDUC8-or said:
Hey GaTech, do you work for Colgan? Do you guys do a runup every morning? I was in ABE and I saw the plane leave and come right back and my CA and I used the little amount of reasoning we had at 5am to think that maybe you did.
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Colgan does a runup every morning in the SAAB. It is just the First Flight of the Day checks that are done on the prop systems and anti-ice systems. Plus it helps to warm up the cabin on those cold winter days. In ORF, we did it at the gate and then left #2 running for boarding.
 
Just speculating, but I plan to be at Skywest within the next year to year and a half. Does anyone here have an "educated" guess as to how easy it would be to get based in SLC? I don't care if I get the jet or the bro, just SLC. With that said, I want to be at Skywest bad enough to take ANY base I get, but I thought I would just ask since we are on the subject of Skywest. :)
 
CRoper said:
Just speculating, but I plan to be at Skywest within the next year to year and a half. Does anyone here have an "educated" guess as to how easy it would be to get based in SLC? I don't care if I get the jet or the bro, just SLC. With that said, I want to be at Skywest bad enough to take ANY base I get, but I thought I would just ask since we are on the subject of Skywest. :)
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First thing you need to learn about the airline business is that a year to year and a half is WAY too far in the future. You need to bring your foresight down to about a week to a week and a half, and then you'll still be chancing it a little. Right now, people are waiting around 6 months to get to where they want to be. Next year, it could be 3 days or 3 years, or somewhere in between..........Just aim for a company you want to work for and get there..the rest will fall into place...eventually
 
Yeah I know, this post just got me excited and the "I wonder" juices just started to flow... I guess I should ask, is SLC a hard base to get right now, has it been in the past and if you had to venture a guess, (knowing that it's impossible to say anything for sure) what would it be? I know that there is quite a few guys on this board that fly for Skywest and was interested in hearing them venture a guess, coming from an "inside the company" perspective. I know that I can't plan my life or base any kind of decision off of it, just totally scratching an itch. Kind of like when you build your own porsche at the porsche website, just for kicks! (Am I the only guy that does that?) :)
 
Right now, and for the next six months or so as certain airplanes are migrated to the Skywest side of the house, SLC will go real junior- at least on the RJ. Not sure about the Brasilia. It usually goes fairly junior with monthly transitions to the RJ.
 
Yeah, Chris is right. Historically SLC hasn't been impossible to get but it hasn't been what you'd get right out of training. With all the CRJ-900 flying we are going to get here I think the base is going to increase in size by quite a bit (17 in total, I think). In fact we are going to need a bigger crew lounge!

Launchpad is right too. You need to just go the airline of your choice and let it happen to you. Your experience will be yours exclusively and you cannot think, "What if I had gotten here sooner?". That type of thinking only drives you crazy. Your seniority number will someday be a good one. The day you sign up though, you may be the plug holding 3000 pilots, who knows.
 
Ophir said:
Yeah, Chris is right. Historically SLC hasn't been impossible to get but it hasn't been what you'd get right out of training. With all the CRJ-900 flying we are going to get here I think the base is going to increase in size by quite a bit (17 in total, I think).
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Yup, I got SLC right out of class, as did quite a few other people. But the class before us was heavy on FAT and chicago, and I don't know anything about the class after us.
 
Maximillian_Jenius said:
No GPU at the gate or APU on those ERJ's?
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I was talking about the SAAB. On the ERJ (if it's not too hot or we have ground air), we leave the APU off until about 5 minutes prior to push. If it's too hot or the ground air isn't working, we start it up and cool the plane down.
 
Just wondering how hard transition is to ORD without 121 experience? I mean if thrown into a bro how long until they could get ORD? Just curious more or less than anything especially since its midwest....
 
Well there is no Bro flying in ORD so you'd have to wait a year for your seat lock to expire to get an RJ class to go to ORD. I've heard that some have been getting class before the seat lock expires but I can't confirm that. Most of the Bro FO's in my class are one year on the nose, no sooner.

A year of 121 flying certainly helps before going into some place that is busy. That being said, you will certainly go into LAX and SFO on the Bro right out of IOE.
 
Ophir said:
Well there is no Bro flying in ORD so you'd have to wait a year for your seat lock to expire to get an RJ class to go to ORD. I've heard that some have been getting class before the seat lock expires but I can't confirm that. Most of the Bro FO's in my class are one year on the nose, no sooner.

A year of 121 flying certainly helps before going into some place that is busy. That being said, you will certainly go into LAX and SFO on the Bro right out of IOE.
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I remember going into ORD on IOE and thinking "what the hell have I gotten myself into?" But now it is much more tolerable especially after being based there. The controllers are really good and lately I have heard some hilarious things from them over the radio.
 
So if place into the Bro then if I am understanding this right you have to sign some sort of contract in which you are locked into the Bro for a year and therefore before you can transition or bid into a RJ (such an ORD base) you have to be in the Bro for a year? Just wondering also if you transition over to the RJ after a year you still same seniority and if you have chance to upgrade could you move back into the Bro if that came first? Just wondering I think I know the answers but figured I'd just lay it out there and ask.
 
We don't have any of those shady contracts! This is just a simple seat lock that a lot of places have. :)

Yes, you keep your seniority when transitioning. I think that answers it for you. I really don't undertand that last part of your question though.
 
Oh last part was if you transition from right seat bro to right seat RJ, would you still be able to upgrade back to Captain in the Bro if that came up first? And then later move over to the jet after a year if you wanted?
 
meyers9163 said:
Oh last part was if you transition from right seat bro to right seat RJ, would you still be able to upgrade back to Captain in the Bro if that came up first? And then later move over to the jet after a year if you wanted?
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Yes. As of today, that is my plan. One year in the Bro, on in the RJ and then back to the left seat of the Bro.
 
It took me a little less than a year and a half to upgrade. (Could take longer depending on growth and how many hours you have. Need at least 2500 TT) As mentioned the RJ is around 2.5 years for some of the more junior bases. Though things are always changing these days.

For me the EMB Cali flying is great. (That said, I am back in SLC next month.) I love to work there, but home is better, even if the flying is more boring. I have to agree with an earlier post that the cost of living is very steep and difficult to afford, especially for newhires. (If you just have a crashpad it may not be so bad. Around $150 per month.) Most EMB newhires get a Cali base and it is a temporary thing until they get the base they want or transition. Since you are there you might as well enjoy the variety of flying it can provide.

Most the guys who live back East try to get to ORD on the RJ at the one year mark. Like Ophir said if you want SLC or DEN you can get it in the EMB, you may just have to wait a few months.
 
Well today was our systems final exam. No one went home afterwards, meaning everyone passed. I am quite impressed with the training department here. They really teach well and definitely have some stamina when it comes to teaching the same thing over and over, every three weeks; another 70 pilots started today!
 
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