SkyWest Airlines Pilot Requirements 2026: Hours, Licence and Hiring Process

SkyWest Airlines, a US regional airline that flies for United, Delta, American and Alaska, hires First Officers through a posting on its job board that asks for no type rating, through its Pilot Pathway Program at partner flight schools and universities, and through its Rotor Transition Program for helicopter pilots. The posting asks for an FAA Commercial certificate with multi-engine and instrument ratings, a First Class medical and, before you start, the ATP experience: 1,500 hours, or, in SkyWest’s own hour table, the restricted ATP’s 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours; you may apply within three months of your minimum, and SkyWest provides the ATP-CTP course to applicants who pass its interview. At the last check, on 15 October 2026, the posting was open on SkyWest’s job board for its 21 crew domiciles, dated 1 July 2026 and listed until 1 January 2027. On 30 June 2026 SkyWest had 517 aircraft in scheduled service: 272 E175s, 77 CRJ700s and E170s, 73 CRJ200s, 52 CRJ550s and 43 CRJ900s.

Is SkyWest Airlines hiring pilots now?

Recruiting at the last check on 15 October 2026 — First Officer seat: Recruiting; Captain seat: Unconfirmed. First Officers from 21, applying within three months of the ATP’s 1,500 h or the restricted ATP’s 750–1,250 h; ATP-CTP course and CRJ or E175 type rating provided

Requirements, as published

Reading the requirements line by line

• Apply before you have the hours. SkyWest’s posting takes applications from pilots within three months of the minimum hour requirement, and asks only that the ATP experience of 14 CFR 61.159 is met before employment. The interview, and the ATP-CTP course SkyWest provides to those who pass it, can therefore happen while you are still building the last hours.
• SkyWest’s hour table. With the unrestricted ATP, from the age of 23: 1,500 hours, with 500 hours cross-country, 100 night, 75 instrument and 25 hours of actual multi-engine time. With the restricted ATP, from 21, which lets you fly as a First Officer only, and with 200 hours cross-country: 1,500 hours; 1,250 hours with an associate degree and 30 semester credit hours of aviation coursework; 1,000 hours with a bachelor’s degree and 60 semester credit hours of aviation coursework, these two with an instrument commercial rating earned under Part 141 at the approved institution; or 750 hours for military pilots, with a DD-214 honourable discharge or a record of current service. The rule behind the lower totals is 14 CFR 61.160.
• Helicopter and glider time. It counts towards the total only if you have at least 250 hours as pilot in command of fixed-wing aircraft.
• No type rating, no ATP written in advance. The posting asks for no type rating: the CRJ or E175 rating is part of new-hire training, and SkyWest’s pilot page offers a USD 7,500 bonus to pilots already rated on the CL65 or the ERJ 170/190. And since SkyWest provides the CTP course after the interview, the ATP knowledge test, which needs the CTP first, can come after the interview too.
• The papers. An FAA Commercial certificate with multi-engine and instrument ratings and an English Proficient endorsement, a current First Class medical, an FCC Radiotelephone Operator’s Permit, US citizenship or proof of the right to work in the US with the working documents, and a current passport or other travel document that lets you leave and re-enter the US. The posting also asks that you can work any day of the week, nights, weekends and holidays included; the domicile is assigned after training. SkyWest’s pilot page adds that it hires no pilot with a criminal conviction that would bar Canadian clearance, and that most new hires start on reserve.

Entry routes

• Direct entry First Officer — 21 domiciles, from the ATP’s 1,500 h or the restricted ATP minimums
• Pilot Pathway Program — 3 elite and 15 standard partner flight schools and universities: a guaranteed First Officer interview during hiring periods
• Rotor Transition Program — for helicopter and powered-lift pilots, through the Pathway application
• Direct entry Captain — SkyWest’s Direct Entry Captain page is published; no vacancy on its job board

The Pathway, Rotor Transition and Direct Entry Captain routes

SkyWest’s career pages describe three routes beside the direct First Officer posting. As we read them, and SkyWest’s job board, on 15 October 2026:

• Pilot Pathway Program, for students at SkyWest’s partner flight schools and universities: a guaranteed interview for a First Officer position during hiring periods, provided you meet the hiring requirements, with company seniority that counts, for up to two years, towards benefits, profit sharing, paid time off and 401(k) matching, and mentoring and interview preparation. Its posting names three elite partners, ATP Flight School, AeroGuard and FLT Academy, whose students can join as soon as they start flight training, and 15 standard partners, whose students join once they hold private, instrument and commercial ratings; you must be at least 18, have the right to work in the US and no more than two check-ride failures. SkyWest’s Pathway pages mention no tuition reimbursement, while some partner schools describe one, with figures that differ, so ask your school and SkyWest which terms apply to you.
• Rotor Transition Program, for helicopter and powered-lift pilots, joined through the Pathway application as soon as you enrol in flight training. Its page lists the fixed-wing time a rotor pilot needs for the restricted ATP: 250 hours as pilot in command, or as second in command acting as pilot in command, 100 hours of pilot-in-command cross-country, 25 of pilot-in-command night and 25 multi-engine in an aeroplane. US military aviators with a DD-214 are eligible for a USD 7,500 bonus. The page tells Rotor Transition pilots to apply as First Officers within four to six months of their ATP or restricted-ATP minimums, where the posting says three months, so ask your recruiter which applies to you.
• Direct Entry Captain: SkyWest publishes a Direct Entry Captain page, but it did not open for us on 15 October 2026. The last copy we could read, from 2024 in the Internet Archive, offered USD 40,000 in bonuses, paid in four stages from the end of the upgrade’s line operational evaluation (LOE) to 24 months after it, a year-for-year pay match up to the 10-year rate and the Guaranteed Pilot Interview Program described below. SkyWest’s job board showed no Direct Entry Captain vacancy, and the only minimums we found for the route are on a SkyWest hiring sheet of January 2024, so confirm both with SkyWest.

SkyWest and the US majors

SkyWest beside the four largest US passenger airlines on our jobs board, as recorded at each airline’s last check:

Read the minimum column against SkyWest’s: each of the majors starts at 1,500 hours or more, so the restricted ATP’s 750 to 1,250 hours open a seat at a regional airline such as SkyWest, not at these four. SkyWest’s pilot page, read on 15 October 2026, names two links to the majors: as a United Express carrier in United’s Aviate programme, it says a SkyWest pilot accepted into Aviate receives a conditional job offer as a United First Officer; and its Guaranteed Pilot Interview Program gives SkyWest Captains with at least 24 months in the left seat who opt in an interview with Delta or Alaska, or both.

Selection process

1. Online application on SkyWest’s careers site, within three months of the hour minimums
2. Pilot interview
3. SkyWest-approved ATP-CTP course, provided to applicants who pass the interview
4. Employment and new-hire training once you meet the ATP experience requirements

Bases and fleet

Bases: 21 crew domiciles (SkyWest fact sheet): Atlanta, Austin, Boise, Chicago O’Hare, Colorado Springs, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Fresno, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St Paul, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Tucson · The First Officer posting lists its domiciles by state and says the domicile is assigned after training

Fleet: 517 aircraft in scheduled service at 30 June 2026: 272 E175s, 77 CRJ700s and E170s, 73 CRJ200s, 52 CRJ550s and 43 CRJ900s (SkyWest fact sheet) · On firm order at 30 June 2026: 67 E175s from Embraer, for delivery through 2031 (SkyWest, Inc. Form 10-Q, as search results showed it) · About 50 CRJ200s to be converted to the CRJ450 layout by 2028, the first expected in service in autumn 2026 (SkyWest, Inc. Form 10-Q and first-quarter 2026 results, as search results showed them)

How to prepare

SkyWest flies the Embraer E175 and the CRJ family, so work the E-Jet bank for the E175 beside the ATPL theory banks; there is no CRJ bank on v1prep. Most applicants still have the ATP knowledge test ahead of them: SkyWest provides the ATP-CTP course to applicants who pass its interview, and the ATP bank covers the ATM written test you sit after it, with the Part 121, performance and turbine-systems questions a US airline interview draws on. We could not confirm the stages of SkyWest’s pilot interview, so prepare for a technical and a behavioural interview with the US airline interview set, and the crew resource management questions with the CRM interview set. Do the paperwork first: total your logbook against SkyWest’s hour table, with your fixed-wing pilot-in-command time on its own line if any of your hours are in helicopters or gliders, and have the papers ready: the Commercial certificate with its English Proficient endorsement, the First Class medical, the FCC radiotelephone permit, and your proof of the right to work in the US and a passport or travel document that lets you back into the country.

For the interview itself, read the complete airline pilot interview guide and the Library’s competency-based pilot interviews. If you are counting on the lower minimums, the restricted ATP explained sets out who qualifies at 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours, and our FAA ATP written test guide covers the ATP-CTP and the test that follows it. The Library’s FAA Part 121 air carrier operations explains the rules a regional First Officer flies under, its E-Jet family and flight deck is a place to start on the E175, and pilot career pathways covers the instructing years most US pilots spend reaching the minimums. The whole route from zero hours is on how to become an airline pilot in the USA. To compare one of SkyWest’s partners, read United Airlines pilot requirements. Check SkyWest’s entry on the jobs board for the latest status.

What we could not confirm

• Whether SkyWest is hiring Direct Entry Captains now and on what terms: its Direct Entry Captain page did not open on 15 October 2026 (the bonuses we quote are from a 2024 copy in the Internet Archive), its job board showed no Direct Entry Captain vacancy, and the only minimums we found (2,000 h total and 1,000 h of air-carrier experience under 14 CFR 121.436) come from a SkyWest hiring sheet of January 2024
• What the pilot interview includes: SkyWest’s pilot page has an interview section we could not read, and we found no published description of a simulator or cognitive assessment
• The Pilot Pathway Program’s tuition reimbursement, which SkyWest’s Pathway pages do not mention and partner schools state differently
• When Rotor Transition pilots should apply: the RTP page says within four to six months of the ATP or restricted-ATP minimums, the First Officer posting within three months
• The 67 E175s on order and the CRJ450 conversion, which come from SkyWest, Inc.’s Form 10-Q and first-quarter 2026 results as search results showed them, not read directly

These points are not published clearly by the airline. Treat them as leads, not facts, and confirm them on the careers page: careers page.

Common questions

Is SkyWest hiring pilots? Yes, at the last check, on 15 October 2026: SkyWest’s job board showed its First Officer posting open for 21 crew domiciles, dated 1 July 2026 and listed until 1 January 2027, beside its Pilot Pathway Program posting, and no Direct Entry Captain vacancy. Postings open and close without notice, so check the job board before you apply.

How many hours do you need to fly for SkyWest? SkyWest’s hour table gives 1,500 hours with the unrestricted ATP, from the age of 23. With the restricted ATP, from 21: 1,500 hours, 1,250 with an associate degree and 30 semester credit hours of aviation coursework, 1,000 with a bachelor’s degree and 60 such credit hours, or 750 for military pilots. You may apply within three months of your minimum. Helicopter or glider time counts only with at least 250 hours as pilot in command of fixed-wing aircraft.

Does SkyWest pay for the type rating and the ATP-CTP? The type rating is not required to apply: the CRJ or E175 rating is part of SkyWest’s new-hire training, and pilots already rated on the CL65 or ERJ 170/190 are offered a USD 7,500 bonus. SkyWest also provides an approved ATP-CTP course to applicants who pass its pilot interview. Its pilot page, read on 15 October 2026, gave First Officer pay of USD 92.73 a flight hour in the first year and USD 98.08 in the third, with year-for-year pay credit, up to the 10-year rate, for experience at one previous Part 121 airline.

What is the SkyWest Pilot Pathway Program? A route for students at SkyWest’s partner flight schools and universities: a guaranteed First Officer interview during hiring periods if you meet the hiring requirements, company seniority towards benefits, and mentoring. Students at the three elite partners can join as soon as they start flight training, and those at the 15 standard partners once they hold private, instrument and commercial ratings. SkyWest’s Pathway pages mention no tuition reimbursement, and partner schools describe it differently, so confirm the terms with your school.

Can a non-US citizen fly for SkyWest? Only with the right to work in the US already. SkyWest’s posting asks you to be a US citizen or to show proof of the right to work in the US, with the working documents and a passport or travel document that lets you leave and re-enter the country, and we found no visa sponsorship on its pages.