Originally Posted by Crazy Canuck

Okay,

Well I am no longer at SkyWest, but as someone who was extremely excited to go there and spent over a year there, I figured I'd write my post debacle report for those thinking about going to OO.

In summary, it was not all I had hoped. In some ways it was better, and in other ways it was worse. Coming from a bit of a mickey mouse part 121/135 gig in Canada I had extremely high hopes and expectations. SkyWest met and excelled in some and really let me down in other areas.

People:
Seriously the BEST group of people I have ever worked with. I am going to miss this greatly. I did not fly with one single guy or gal that I really "Didn't like." Almost every trip was a vacation and a blast! I really felt that way and there were very few days I dreaded coming to work. Some of our FA's were extremely difficult to work with, and the young new hires think they are prima-donna's. But I don't think that's unique to OO. RG out of Chicago? What more can I say. This guy kept me coming back to work every day especially when things were difficult. I am really going to miss working for him.

Management:
Generally these guys are good people. When push comes to shove they take care of you. If you need time off for ANY reason they give it to you with almost no questions asked. Unfortunately, the level of disconnection with their pilot group is very high since they are holed up in St. George, UT. I felt like, through observation and various emails, they felt like they really understood their pilot group and what we wanted. In reality I think there is a disconnect and it's getting more difficult to deal with by the day.

Operations:
Generally good. Dispatchers were generally very helpful and good people. Crew Scheduling is awful. I feel so bad for each one of them. They are almost all good people who have their hands tied or don't know what they're doing. The words "well it's legal..." will hold a special place in your heart and you will be told "no" for no good reason 90% of the time you are told "yes." Don't be hard on the people saying this because it's usually them just trying to cover their ass. Explain your position and file a PIC.
Maintenance kind of sucks. I expected MUCH better. SkyWest blows all this smoke up your arse about how "we aren't Mesa" when it comes to Mx. Well at times I felt like they were! Consistent recurring snags along with MEL's almost every time I flew...

SAPA:
Hey, remember that PIC I just suggested you file? Don't expect it to be resolved satisfactorily. Management pays for SAPA and gets their money's worth (hello CCB? He's absolutely right). This had to be the most disappointing thing about OO. I came here excited to work for a non unionized carrier. It certainly had it's advantages, but one of the big disadvantages was the way SAPA is handled. I will add the caveat that I DO believe the guys working there to be very hard workers and VERY good guys. I am not slagging them at all. This is above them and rooted in the company culture. It is just one of those things you have to get over if you work here without being bitter. Try and change if you want but it won't, and for why please see "pilot group" below...

Administration:
Complete cluster. I had to call payroll every stinking week to deal with my pay. The guy who did ORD payroll was hit or miss in his level of helpfulness. If you got him on the phone he was usually pretty good....

Pilot Group:
As said before, best group of people I've ever worked with. I always felt like an equal crew member and was never intimidated. Most of these people were very happy people too. The downers you see on here are definitely the exception, not the rule. The ones that enjoy their job are too busy enjoying life to complain on here. However, I have to admit I found the general outlook of the pilot group to be disappointing. Particularly during the last pay negotiations. That contract was a joke and a half that management managed to bamboozle 60% of the pilots into voting for and over 10% of the others to not even voting one way or the other at all. If I had a nickel for every time I heard "well we're just a regional" I wouldn't need to complain about about regional wage because I'd be rich! I found a lot of people were okay with allowing management to violate the work rules they agreed to abide by.

QOL:
Personally, my QOL was great. Keep in mind I am young and single. I was able to pay my loans off first year and had a fair bit to put away on second year. Pay scale is better than most of the regionals. Healthcare sucks, dental wasn't bad. The schedules were tough but within 9 months I was able to get 15 days off a month if I was willing to work weekends. Lots of good flying out there except maybe in MSP or PHX. I had a blast in ORD and have made it my home. If that's not your thing, other bases are available to you as well...

Other bad:
Like I said, I always had to fight for my pay. Most of the work rule violations were not resolved in an appropriate manner because, well....the company pays for the union! Erm, association. The last pay contract was mickey mouse.
I feel like SkyWest is a "pushover" organization. Everyone just rolled over for whoever was over them. The peoples department rolls over for United (be prepared for your "awesome" flight benefits) and Delta. The pilots roll over for management....etc.



Overall, SkyWest is a different animal than other regionals. They operate differently and this can be both good and bad. I feel like the good weighs the bad and makes it a wash. I think if you are looking for your first regional job it's not a bad place to go as long as you're okay with the upgrade time being a wildcard. I don't think that'll matter too much in the future anyway. OO has a bright future if they can staff and I can see a fair bit of expansion happening while attrition stays high, even with the 50 seaters starting to go away (IF they go away at all...).

I was genuinely sad on the day I turned my badge in, shook Roy's hand, and walked out of there. I had the best year of my young life thus far and will always remember OO fondly! I will also remember some other aspects with anxiety, but at the end of the day I made the most of it. Thus concludes my one year and final report. Best of luck to all!

Originally Posted by 121 gigawatts

Canuck,
Wherever you are headed, good luck!

Originally Posted by ryan4sail

Hey guys, I'm in the 9/28 CRJ class and had a couple questions regarding base assignments. I live in LA, so obviously I want to get to LAX as soon as possible. People keep saying it will be 6 months, although I feel a little skepticle. With the AA 200's leaving it seems like the base will be shrinking pretty significantly. My best friend was holding a line with pretty good trips, and now he's third from the bottom on reserve. Any rumors of new flying coming to LAX? With that being said, I have no problem commuting if its for a short time (2-3 months). Otherwise, I'll just move to ORD. Also, are moots the pilots getting ORD, or MSP out of training? I am really low on my class seniority. Thanks!
Ryan

Originally Posted by falcon99

When do you get the CBTs prior to your class start date? I heard we get them ahead of time, just wondering by how much.
Also, can anyone shed light on where some E-175 guys have done their sim training? I hear 'there are sims everywhere' and that just doesn't help me.
Thanks

Originally Posted by Crazy Canuck

Thus concludes my one year and final report. Best of luck to all!