Author Archives: Caitlin Miller

Family in the Flight Deck

Several years ago, Suzy and Donna Garrett made history when they took to the skies together as SkyWest’s first mother-daughter duo in the flight deck. On Jan. 23, 2022, the family reached a new milestone as Donna and her brother Mark were able to fly together with their mom, Suzy, joining them in the jumpseat.

“Having my mom in the jumpseat was the cherry on top,” said Mark. “It was easily the most fun I’ve had on a trip at SkyWest!”

Mark came to SkyWest in 2019 to follow in his family’s footsteps. Both of his parents and his sister Donna have all flown for SkyWest, so he said it made it an obvious choice.

“SkyWest’s reputation as one of the best regional airlines to work for sealed my decision,” said Mark. “The family feel at SkyWest goes beyond just my immediate family members working for the same company.”

Since joining the SkyWest team, Mark has been hoping to fly a trip with his sister and was thrilled when she upgraded to captain last year. The two were finally able to align schedules to fly two round trips from Chicago (ORD) to Des Moines, IA (DSM).

While Donna had flown previously with her brother during his flight training, this memorable trip was the first time they were able to fly a commercial flight together.

“Flying with my sister at SkyWest felt really comfortable. Years ago, we flew a cross country flight in a Cessna 172 from Oxnard, CA (OXR) to Oshkosh, WI (OSH) just after I had started learning how to fly,” said Mark. “Donna made all the major decisions during that trip and it felt like a captain and first officer situation. Our SkyWest trip reminded me of the old days of us flying together.”

The trip also gave Mark the chance to see how far Donna has progressed as a professional pilot.

“Her landings have come a long way since Oshkosh!” said Mark. “She has developed the attributes of a great captain. During this trip, she was my sister, Donna, but I also got to see her professional side of Captain Garrett.”

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Encouraging the Next Generation of Female Pilots

Denver-based CRJ First Officer Abby Jarve is passionate about women in aviation. She had an impactful mentor while she was in high school and beginning her pursuit of an aviation career, and is trying to do the same for the next generation of female aviators in her area. Abby recently took a group of high school and college girls on a tour in DEN and the girls all left with a greater excitement for flying!

The tour was organized through the Wings Over the Rockies Museum where Abby is a volunteer. The girls in her mentorship group have all received scholarships through the museum to earn their private pilot certificates, and are in different phases of their experiences. By bringing them to the airport, Abby was able to show them what a day in the life is like for a professional pilot.

“After I got hired at SkyWest, the museum asked if I would be a mentor for the scholarship foundation and the answer was an obvious, yes,” said Abby. “I hope that I can be a help and positive influence just like the mentors I’ve had in my life.”

The group started their tour in the crew lounge talking about what is done before a flight and the similarities and differences between professional and general aviation. Then they proceeded to the ramp for a walk around and tour of the flight deck of an E175 and a CRJ700. The next stop was SkyWest maintenance in DEN. The tour ended with a visit to United’s Operations Control.

“I think they all walked away with better perspectives of what being an airline pilot is like, how to achieve it, and an introduction to the SkyWest spirit,” said Clint Hultgren, DEN Flight Operations Supervisor, who met up with Abby and the girls during the tour.

We love having positive influences like Abby on our team! She is one of many women at SkyWest who encourage and inspire the next generation of female aviation professionals.