Quick outline:
- How I got hired (and what surprised me)
- Training in Salt Lake City
- Bases, commuting, and crash pads
- A day on the line (a real trip I worked)
- Schedules, reserve life, and pay basics
- Culture and managers
- Travel perks that actually worked for me
- The hard stuff no one told me
- Who SkyWest fits, and a few tips
- My verdict
Here’s the thing. I didn’t plan to work in aviation. I liked travel. I liked people. But I also liked getting home for dinner. Funny, right? Then SkyWest happened, and I learned how fast your plans can change when a snowstorm hits Denver.
I worked as a SkyWest flight attendant for about two years. I started in Denver, then swapped to Salt Lake City. I also did one interview for a station ops role before I joined inflight. So I’ve seen both sides a little. This is my real story—good, bad, and oddly sweet.
If you’d rather skim the highlights, I also pulled together a separate, bite-sized recap of my time at the airline that you can find here: My honest take on the careers, the people, and the real day-to-day at SkyWest.
How I Got In (and What Surprised Me)
I applied online and got a short phone screen. Then a video interview with scenario questions. Stuff like, “What would you do if a passenger refused to follow a rule?” Real simple on the surface, but they want to hear calm steps. Not drama.
After that, I went to a group interview. We did a team exercise with a fake delay and a stressed parent. I spoke up, but I didn’t talk over folks. That mattered. I got a conditional job offer the same day. My hands shook. Happy-shook.
Tip: Be kind, be clear, and keep your cool. They’re watching how you handle small stuff.
Training in Salt Lake City
Training was in Salt Lake City for about a month. Long days. Safety drills. Lots of memory items. We practiced CPR. We fought a fake fire with real heat. We did door drills for the CRJ and the E175. The trainers were tough but fair. They cared. You could tell. If you want to see a day-by-day rundown of the entire 35-day curriculum, check out this inside look at SkyWest’s flight attendant training.
I won’t get into exact numbers, because those change. But we had a place to stay. We had shuttles and clear rules. We studied at night, often in the hall, eating vending snacks and quizzing each other. I still remember the smell of dry-erase markers and coffee. You pass, or you don’t. It’s serious.
Bases, Commuting, and Crash Pads
My first base was Denver. Busy. Weather swings. Deice gel everywhere in winter. Later I moved to Salt Lake City for a steadier commute. I tried commuting by air for one month, and honestly, it wore me down. I ended up in a crash pad—bunk beds, rolling suitcases, and a whiteboard for chores. Kind of like camp, but with jumpseats.
If you can live in base, do it. Your sleep will thank you.
A Real Day on the Line
Here’s an actual two-day I worked:
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Day 1: Denver to Fresno, Fresno to Denver, then Denver to Oklahoma City. The first leg had a deice delay. We served water and crackers at the gate to keep folks calm. A kid asked me if planes get cold. I said yes, but we dress them in warm foam. He laughed. His mom did too. Worth it.
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Overnight in OKC: The hotel was clean, but the shuttle took a while. I did stretches on the carpet and ate instant oatmeal. Glamour? Not really. Peaceful? Yes.
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Day 2: Early show. OKC to Denver on an E175. Smooth ride. One broken coffee pot, so we served from the other side and smiled extra. Back in Denver by lunch. I called my mom.
CRJ galleys are snug. E175 feels roomier. You get good at Tetris with coffee packs and snack bins.
Schedules, Reserve Life, and Pay Basics
Scheduling used a monthly bidding system. You set your wants—early shows, long layovers, more turns, fewer overnights—and hope the computer loves you. On reserve, you’re on call. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes your phone blows up. I once got a call while folding laundry and was at the airport in my uniform 60 minutes later. Adrenaline is real.
I won’t list pay rates. They change. Here’s what felt true:
- Per diem mattered more than I thought.
- Picking smart trips helped my check.
- Reserve felt rough the first few months, then I learned the rhythm.
Trading trips was a small sport. I used the system nightly, tea in hand, like a little stock market for flights.
Culture: Do They Care?
My take: Safety is the drumbeat. I never felt pushed to skip a step. If something looked off, we paused. Inflight supervisors in both DEN and SLC were reachable. I had one who called me after a tough medical event just to check in. I teared up in the parking lot.
I also saw the other side: last-minute reassignments, and not every hotel was great. But when things went sideways, the duty desk tried. Not perfect, but you could hear the effort. Scrolling through recent flight attendant reviews of SkyWest’s training on Indeed echoes a lot of what I felt—high marks for safety culture, mixed notes on scheduling pain points.
Travel Perks That Actually Worked
Non-rev travel is the wild west, but it can be great. I did a weekend to San Diego with my sister on standby. First try, we missed it. Second try, we split seats and met at the beach. We ate fish tacos and laughed about our backpacks smelling like airplane coffee. You learn to roll with it.
Holiday travel gets tight. I built backup plans. I kept snacks. I checked loads like it was a weather app.
That adaptability later helped when I moon-lit on a tech project; if you’re curious how aerospace bridges into satellite internet, you can read my candid notes from testing the waters at Starlink here: I tried Starlink careers—here's my real take.
The Hard Stuff No One Told Me
- Winter delays will test you. Hydrate. Keep a granola bar.
- Reserve can feel lonely. Make pad friends. Share rides.
- Irregular ops (IROPs) means everything moves. The gate. The time. Your mood. Breathe. It helps.
- Passenger behavior swings. Most are kind. One wasn’t. I followed the steps, looped in the captain, and we handled it.
During those quiet, sometimes isolating overnights, it’s amazing what rabbit holes you can fall into online. Some crew binge-watch shows, others go hunting for more off-beat distractions—like live cam sites. If curiosity ever strikes, this no-punches-pulled field test spells out what really happens: We tried sex webcams—here’s what happened next. The article breaks down the surprises, costs, and safety pointers so you can decide whether it’s a worthwhile layover pastime or a hard pass.
If your pairing ever strands you in Missouri for an unexpected overnight—St. Louis, Springfield, or a Kansas City sit—and the hotel bar isn’t cutting it, the no-fluff USA Sex Guide for Missouri breaks down current hotspots, neighborhood dos and don’ts, and on-the-ground safety intel so you can decide whether to venture out or stay curled up with room-service fries.
Also, sleep. Protect it like it’s gold.
Who SkyWest Fits (From What I Saw)
- You like teamwork, but you can handle quiet time in a hotel room.
- You want structure, but you can pivot fast.
- You care about safety and small details. The small things make the big things work.
If you want a Monday–Friday desk life, this isn’t it. If you like stories and don’t mind rolling with weather, it might fit.
A Few Tips I’d Give My Past Self
- Live in base if you can. If not, get a solid crash pad.
- Build a go-bag: meds, a phone charger, a pen, a snack, and a tiny stain stick.
- Learn the galley setups by heart. It saves time on short turns.
- On reserve, plan like you’ll fly, rest like you won’t.
- Be kind to ops folks and ramp. They save your day more than you think.
Wondering how a wholly different training pipeline compares? I recently went through BlueSky’s onboarding just for kicks—my full play-by-play is here: [I tried BlueSky Careers for real—here's how it went](https://www.career