SkyWest ?’s
11-03-2023, 06:09 PM
#5131
Line Holder
Joined APC: Dec 2022
Posts: 71
Hey all - I have my ERJ indoc coming up relatively soon and was curious about what reserve flying currently looks like at the various bases.
In my understanding, (1) we get to submit base preferences during indoc and (2) if applicable, this is affected by cadet seniority (mine is summer '22). Is that right?
Obviously that's also all predicated on what bases are even available; I think currently the most junior for ERJ FOs are LAX, SLC, BOI, PDX, and SFO.
I don't really have any strong geographic preferences - my main objective is to pick somewhere I'll actually be able to fly somewhat consistently. Anecdotally, I'd heard ERJ reserve at BOI hasn't been flying much, and SFO is pretty busy. Not sure how true that still is.
I'm sure it ebbs and flows but anyone have any idea what the busier bases for ERJ reserve FOs are? Or, additionally, where is quicker to get a line?
TIA
In my understanding, (1) we get to submit base preferences during indoc and (2) if applicable, this is affected by cadet seniority (mine is summer '22). Is that right?
Obviously that's also all predicated on what bases are even available; I think currently the most junior for ERJ FOs are LAX, SLC, BOI, PDX, and SFO.
I don't really have any strong geographic preferences - my main objective is to pick somewhere I'll actually be able to fly somewhat consistently. Anecdotally, I'd heard ERJ reserve at BOI hasn't been flying much, and SFO is pretty busy. Not sure how true that still is.
I'm sure it ebbs and flows but anyone have any idea what the busier bases for ERJ reserve FOs are? Or, additionally, where is quicker to get a line?
TIA
LAX isn’t junior. The website may reflect that, but that’s based off one anomaly FO who got in there early. Other than that, LA is senior, averaging 4-6 months to a line. You can likely get into the base with a month or two on the line, but you’d be flying reserve likely.
Smaller bases like SAN, PDX, etc are not flying reserves much. ORD is bad as well too right now. Larger/busier bases like LA, SF, SEA, etc will have more flying for reserves, but will take longer to hold a line.
As it stands, SLC is the quickest way to a line.
All of this changes as you said, especially when flying increases or shrinks based on seasonal/monthly demand.
Last edited by Breaker11; 11-03-2023 at 06:10 PM. Reason: .
11-06-2023, 07:06 PM
#5133
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2018
Posts: 523
11-07-2023, 03:27 PM
#5134
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2015
Position: Guppy Gear Slinger
Posts: 1,999
Which bases are junior will always be a different answer (changes all the time.) A quick look at the ER7 CA seniority list indicates that LAX, SFO, MSP, and BOI are relatively junior. SLC is of course very senior.
Quickest base to a line: that's hard to say. 40% of LAX and BOI CAs are on reserve, while 25% of SFO CAs are on reserve. A lot of these folks are Skywest lifers, so you're unlikely to see much movement anytime soon. The real movement is on the FO side in every base, which is insanely quick due to so many FOs leaving before their first CQ is even scheduled.
11-14-2023, 09:53 AM
#5136
Line Holder
Joined APC: Aug 2018
Posts: 82
My experience as a DEC at Skywest
Fair warning: I had a bad experience at Skywest and wanted to share it so that others are aware of a potential pitfall.
I went through training as a DEC candidate about 18 months ago. My impression from working at another regional flying the ERJ was that Skywest loads candidates up with way too much information: why do we need to memorize alternate minima criteria? why do we need to memorize the ops specs requirements for TDZ when the RVR is x, y or z? That is primarily the dispatcher's realm, and either way it is readily available. This continued in the sim, with 2 hr briefings routinely going over the two hour limit and every split second of the four hour sim ride filled with detailed instruction and unrealistic scenarios ("Hold at X at Y airspeed, descend now to Z altitude with two minute legs, left turns, etc etc etc"). In the real world, I would have responded to half these scenarios with, "Unable" or "I can go down or slow down, which would you like." Yes, the training was thorough but far from user friendly. A lot of folks either washed out or required up to three extra sims (out of a 12 sim footprint).
Despite doing fairly well throughout the sims, I had an awful LOE checkride (Sim 12). I clicked off the autothrottle when asked to descend, slow and enter a hold and forgot to reengage. I got a couple knots below Vglide (Green Dot for those who know this term) and my ride was over. The check airman said we could polish it up in a few minutes of retraining, take a recheck and move on. He also said that if I failed the next checkride, I would be terminated. Now I had a decision to make. I had been told to expect a west coast base, but had already been advised that everyone in my DEC cadre would be going to Houston for "a while." Coupled with my unfavorable impression of the operation (again, my opinion), I decided not to risk it and to move on. I sent a resignation letter to the Director of Training; he accepted my resignation and wished me luck. Fast forward a year and a half, and I'm applying to a major airline. I check my PRIA and PRD and guess what I find? "Skywest employment status -- Terminated for Pilot Performance." Shocked, I tried to contact Skywest but there are literally no numbers on their website that are answered by a human. I reach out to my former classmates and get hooked up with the ERJ training manager who says, "Oh, yeah, we always terminate people who resign after a failure." Really? Setting aside the ethical issue, was there any attempt to tell me, say, before my resignation was accepted? How about informing me that I had been terminated after the deed had been done? The answer to both, of course, is no. Skywest took my resignation, sprinkled some S&!$ on it and, presto! I'm fired. So I plead my case all the way up to Tracy Gallo, VP of Ops -- the answer was nope. I contacted a labor attorney and he said, "You will likely find your answer in the fine print of your training contract." In other words, buried in whatever paperwork we as pilot candidates sign for Skywest is a ticking time bomb wherein you will be fired if you decide that you don't want to stick around after an initial failure. Forget the fact that the check airman didn't know that ("AFTER a second failure, you would be terminated") and the director of training didn't mention it, ("We will process your resignation. Best of luck."), if you didn't read the fine print and made the same mistake I did, you have a termination on your PRIA. I have at least one classmate that made the same mistake and likely doesn't know yet. And yes, I reached out to SAPA. They promised to look into it and are currently ghosting me.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I wanted everyone to know that there are unseen threats in Skywest's contract. It's possible that this clause exists in other companies, but my takeaway is that I felt Skywest had the opportunity and obligation to let me know what would happen if I resigned prior to completing my training. If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely have sucked it up and completed the training. And if I could go back even further, I would never have crossed paths with Skywest.
With no disrespect to current or past OO pilots, this is only a heads up for everyone who wants to keep their certificate as clean as possible.
I went through training as a DEC candidate about 18 months ago. My impression from working at another regional flying the ERJ was that Skywest loads candidates up with way too much information: why do we need to memorize alternate minima criteria? why do we need to memorize the ops specs requirements for TDZ when the RVR is x, y or z? That is primarily the dispatcher's realm, and either way it is readily available. This continued in the sim, with 2 hr briefings routinely going over the two hour limit and every split second of the four hour sim ride filled with detailed instruction and unrealistic scenarios ("Hold at X at Y airspeed, descend now to Z altitude with two minute legs, left turns, etc etc etc"). In the real world, I would have responded to half these scenarios with, "Unable" or "I can go down or slow down, which would you like." Yes, the training was thorough but far from user friendly. A lot of folks either washed out or required up to three extra sims (out of a 12 sim footprint).
Despite doing fairly well throughout the sims, I had an awful LOE checkride (Sim 12). I clicked off the autothrottle when asked to descend, slow and enter a hold and forgot to reengage. I got a couple knots below Vglide (Green Dot for those who know this term) and my ride was over. The check airman said we could polish it up in a few minutes of retraining, take a recheck and move on. He also said that if I failed the next checkride, I would be terminated. Now I had a decision to make. I had been told to expect a west coast base, but had already been advised that everyone in my DEC cadre would be going to Houston for "a while." Coupled with my unfavorable impression of the operation (again, my opinion), I decided not to risk it and to move on. I sent a resignation letter to the Director of Training; he accepted my resignation and wished me luck. Fast forward a year and a half, and I'm applying to a major airline. I check my PRIA and PRD and guess what I find? "Skywest employment status -- Terminated for Pilot Performance." Shocked, I tried to contact Skywest but there are literally no numbers on their website that are answered by a human. I reach out to my former classmates and get hooked up with the ERJ training manager who says, "Oh, yeah, we always terminate people who resign after a failure." Really? Setting aside the ethical issue, was there any attempt to tell me, say, before my resignation was accepted? How about informing me that I had been terminated after the deed had been done? The answer to both, of course, is no. Skywest took my resignation, sprinkled some S&!$ on it and, presto! I'm fired. So I plead my case all the way up to Tracy Gallo, VP of Ops -- the answer was nope. I contacted a labor attorney and he said, "You will likely find your answer in the fine print of your training contract." In other words, buried in whatever paperwork we as pilot candidates sign for Skywest is a ticking time bomb wherein you will be fired if you decide that you don't want to stick around after an initial failure. Forget the fact that the check airman didn't know that ("AFTER a second failure, you would be terminated") and the director of training didn't mention it, ("We will process your resignation. Best of luck."), if you didn't read the fine print and made the same mistake I did, you have a termination on your PRIA. I have at least one classmate that made the same mistake and likely doesn't know yet. And yes, I reached out to SAPA. They promised to look into it and are currently ghosting me.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I wanted everyone to know that there are unseen threats in Skywest's contract. It's possible that this clause exists in other companies, but my takeaway is that I felt Skywest had the opportunity and obligation to let me know what would happen if I resigned prior to completing my training. If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely have sucked it up and completed the training. And if I could go back even further, I would never have crossed paths with Skywest.
With no disrespect to current or past OO pilots, this is only a heads up for everyone who wants to keep their certificate as clean as possible.
11-14-2023, 10:51 AM
#5137
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2013
Posts: 352
Fair warning: I had a bad experience at Skywest and wanted to share it so that others are aware of a potential pitfall.
I went through training as a DEC candidate about 18 months ago. My impression from working at another regional flying the ERJ was that Skywest loads candidates up with way too much information: why do we need to memorize alternate minima criteria? why do we need to memorize the ops specs requirements for TDZ when the RVR is x, y or z? That is primarily the dispatcher's realm, and either way it is readily available. This continued in the sim, with 2 hr briefings routinely going over the two hour limit and every split second of the four hour sim ride filled with detailed instruction and unrealistic scenarios ("Hold at X at Y airspeed, descend now to Z altitude with two minute legs, left turns, etc etc etc"). In the real world, I would have responded to half these scenarios with, "Unable" or "I can go down or slow down, which would you like." Yes, the training was thorough but far from user friendly. A lot of folks either washed out or required up to three extra sims (out of a 12 sim footprint).
Despite doing fairly well throughout the sims, I had an awful LOE checkride (Sim 12). I clicked off the autothrottle when asked to descend, slow and enter a hold and forgot to reengage. I got a couple knots below Vglide (Green Dot for those who know this term) and my ride was over. The check airman said we could polish it up in a few minutes of retraining, take a recheck and move on. He also said that if I failed the next checkride, I would be terminated. Now I had a decision to make. I had been told to expect a west coast base, but had already been advised that everyone in my DEC cadre would be going to Houston for "a while." Coupled with my unfavorable impression of the operation (again, my opinion), I decided not to risk it and to move on. I sent a resignation letter to the Director of Training; he accepted my resignation and wished me luck. Fast forward a year and a half, and I'm applying to a major airline. I check my PRIA and PRD and guess what I find? "Skywest employment status -- Terminated for Pilot Performance." Shocked, I tried to contact Skywest but there are literally no numbers on their website that are answered by a human. I reach out to my former classmates and get hooked up with the ERJ training manager who says, "Oh, yeah, we always terminate people who resign after a failure." Really? Setting aside the ethical issue, was there any attempt to tell me, say, before my resignation was accepted? How about informing me that I had been terminated after the deed had been done? The answer to both, of course, is no. Skywest took my resignation, sprinkled some S&!$ on it and, presto! I'm fired. So I plead my case all the way up to Tracy Gallo, VP of Ops -- the answer was nope. I contacted a labor attorney and he said, "You will likely find your answer in the fine print of your training contract." In other words, buried in whatever paperwork we as pilot candidates sign for Skywest is a ticking time bomb wherein you will be fired if you decide that you don't want to stick around after an initial failure. Forget the fact that the check airman didn't know that ("AFTER a second failure, you would be terminated") and the director of training didn't mention it, ("We will process your resignation. Best of luck."), if you didn't read the fine print and made the same mistake I did, you have a termination on your PRIA. I have at least one classmate that made the same mistake and likely doesn't know yet. And yes, I reached out to SAPA. They promised to look into it and are currently ghosting me.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I wanted everyone to know that there are unseen threats in Skywest's contract. It's possible that this clause exists in other companies, but my takeaway is that I felt Skywest had the opportunity and obligation to let me know what would happen if I resigned prior to completing my training. If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely have sucked it up and completed the training. And if I could go back even further, I would never have crossed paths with Skywest.
With no disrespect to current or past OO pilots, this is only a heads up for everyone who wants to keep their certificate as clean as possible.
I went through training as a DEC candidate about 18 months ago. My impression from working at another regional flying the ERJ was that Skywest loads candidates up with way too much information: why do we need to memorize alternate minima criteria? why do we need to memorize the ops specs requirements for TDZ when the RVR is x, y or z? That is primarily the dispatcher's realm, and either way it is readily available. This continued in the sim, with 2 hr briefings routinely going over the two hour limit and every split second of the four hour sim ride filled with detailed instruction and unrealistic scenarios ("Hold at X at Y airspeed, descend now to Z altitude with two minute legs, left turns, etc etc etc"). In the real world, I would have responded to half these scenarios with, "Unable" or "I can go down or slow down, which would you like." Yes, the training was thorough but far from user friendly. A lot of folks either washed out or required up to three extra sims (out of a 12 sim footprint).
Despite doing fairly well throughout the sims, I had an awful LOE checkride (Sim 12). I clicked off the autothrottle when asked to descend, slow and enter a hold and forgot to reengage. I got a couple knots below Vglide (Green Dot for those who know this term) and my ride was over. The check airman said we could polish it up in a few minutes of retraining, take a recheck and move on. He also said that if I failed the next checkride, I would be terminated. Now I had a decision to make. I had been told to expect a west coast base, but had already been advised that everyone in my DEC cadre would be going to Houston for "a while." Coupled with my unfavorable impression of the operation (again, my opinion), I decided not to risk it and to move on. I sent a resignation letter to the Director of Training; he accepted my resignation and wished me luck. Fast forward a year and a half, and I'm applying to a major airline. I check my PRIA and PRD and guess what I find? "Skywest employment status -- Terminated for Pilot Performance." Shocked, I tried to contact Skywest but there are literally no numbers on their website that are answered by a human. I reach out to my former classmates and get hooked up with the ERJ training manager who says, "Oh, yeah, we always terminate people who resign after a failure." Really? Setting aside the ethical issue, was there any attempt to tell me, say, before my resignation was accepted? How about informing me that I had been terminated after the deed had been done? The answer to both, of course, is no. Skywest took my resignation, sprinkled some S&!$ on it and, presto! I'm fired. So I plead my case all the way up to Tracy Gallo, VP of Ops -- the answer was nope. I contacted a labor attorney and he said, "You will likely find your answer in the fine print of your training contract." In other words, buried in whatever paperwork we as pilot candidates sign for Skywest is a ticking time bomb wherein you will be fired if you decide that you don't want to stick around after an initial failure. Forget the fact that the check airman didn't know that ("AFTER a second failure, you would be terminated") and the director of training didn't mention it, ("We will process your resignation. Best of luck."), if you didn't read the fine print and made the same mistake I did, you have a termination on your PRIA. I have at least one classmate that made the same mistake and likely doesn't know yet. And yes, I reached out to SAPA. They promised to look into it and are currently ghosting me.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I wanted everyone to know that there are unseen threats in Skywest's contract. It's possible that this clause exists in other companies, but my takeaway is that I felt Skywest had the opportunity and obligation to let me know what would happen if I resigned prior to completing my training. If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely have sucked it up and completed the training. And if I could go back even further, I would never have crossed paths with Skywest.
With no disrespect to current or past OO pilots, this is only a heads up for everyone who wants to keep their certificate as clean as possible.
If you were technically terminated, declare unemployment on them.Fukkk em.
The green dot thing... Assuming an immediate correction, thats examiner discretion. The op spec stuff... Ya even at Widget we don't need to know any of that.
I probably would have just gave it another shot, but to each their own.
If you are lucky enough to interview with an ulcc/lcc/major, just remember that blaming everything on OO will not look good for you. Figure out a way to spin it while taking responsibility. Also get as many letters of rec as possible.
11-14-2023, 05:33 PM
#5138
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2022
Posts: 449
I harken back to a simpler harsher time when the failure was the issue and the unemployment a given.
Best of luck with the future and think about what the widget said about the delivery of the story. OO spent a lot of money on your training, your next employer will too.
Best of luck with the future and think about what the widget said about the delivery of the story. OO spent a lot of money on your training, your next employer will too.
11-15-2023, 07:00 AM
#5139
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2022
Position: A330, Right
Posts: 134
If you wanted to get started on things to study, the largest trip up in indoc for new hires seems to be Exemption 17347.
This channel has a bunch of 175 CBT systems videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQvV...SBCwtJKEtpaQ3Y
You can search on Google things similar to "SkyWest E175 Quizlet" and there are tons of flashcard items on there; probably mostly correct. I would look at dates created and and use sets that are more recent.
Looks like you can find Embraer's APM (Airport Planning Manual) through a Google search. SkyWest's ERJs are LR/LL.
"INTRODUCTION TO JEPPESEN NAVIGATION CHARTS" is a 135 page PDF that's easy to find as well.
Website called PDFcoffee.com seems to have the AFM (Airplane Flight Manual) and the Honeywell (NG FlightManagement System(FMS) for the Embraer 170/175/190/195 and Lineage 1000 Load 27 Pilot’s Guide).
I've never used the site, download at your own risks there....
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