SkyWest talks with one of our maintenance professionals who reflects on his aviation career and what Black History Month means to him.
Reggie Teague, an A&P professional at SkyWest, is coming up on his 20th anniversary and has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. The Houston-based maintenance supervisor has worked across the country and throughout the SkyWest system working on advanced aircraft systems, troubleshooting and doing inspections to help keep SkyWest’s fleet running smoothly.
As we celebrate Black History Month, the veteran A&P mechanic says he is grateful for the opportunity it provides to recognize and reflect on the contributions of those – both past and present – who have made difference.
“I’m proud of my heritage and appreciate those who fought for equality and who helped pave the way before me,” Reggie said.” My parents are my role models. They didn’t have it easy and they worked hard to make sure I had what I needed to succeed in life. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be the man that I am today.”
Those lessons and traits have shaped Reggie’s fun-loving personality and a big reason why he’s made a lasting impression on all those he meets, especially his coworkers.
For Reggie, SkyWest has always been his ‘home away from home’ and the company’s family-like environment has helped him feel included and supported from the moment he started. That camaraderie was on full display three years ago when Reggie broke both of his legs and was away from work for several months. The challenging time was quickly filled with love and support as current and former SkyWest employees kept checking up on him.
“I had people who I hadn’t worked with in years calling me and asking how I was doing,” he said. “A bunch of employees even donated their hours to help me. I’m forever grateful to them. And that’s what SkyWest is all about. We are a family and everyone has big hearts!”
While Reggie has had other opportunities at mainline carriers, he says the connection he shares with the company has made staying with the airline an easy choice.
“SkyWest has always stuck by my side and they gave me a chance when everyone else closed their door,” he said. “My experiences here have been nothing short of amazing. I have made strong lifetime bonds with people in the SkyWest family. These are just some of the reasons that I never think about leaving. It really has been a great blessing to work here and I look forward to many more years to come.”
From working on jets to turboprops, Reggie has done it all. And what makes Reggie’s story so intriguing is that it nearly didn’t happen.
Before joining SkyWest in 2001, Reggie worked as a hotel manager in Houston, Texas. He recalls pilots and flight attendants checking into the hotel talking about their fun trips or upcoming vacations.
“I was jealous. The only perk I could get was a free hotel stay,” Reggie said jokingly. “Hearing them talk about their trips got me interested, but I didn’t want to be a pilot or a flight attendant. I’m a guy who loves to build things, take stuff apart and then put it all back together.”
After a friend told him about the option to be an aircraft mechanic, Reggie was sold.
“I looked into it with my mom; we did some research and I decided to do it,” he said. “I enrolled and successfully completed A&P school in 18 months, then started applying to a bunch of airlines.”
With interviews at regionals as well as major U.S. airlines, Reggie was just excited to get started. Then the unthinkable happened: 9/11.
“When 9/11 happened, airline recruiters were calling me and letting me know that they were going into a hiring freeze. I was crushed. I said to myself, ‘that’s it. I’m not getting hired,’” he recalls. “Then a little bit later that day, I received a phone call from SkyWest and at that point, I just figured I was going to get the same reply as I got from all the other airlines. But I was wrong. They surprised me and offered me a aircraft mechanic position in Salt Lake City. I told the hiring manager that all the other airlines called me that morning and told me they were on a hiring freeze. The hiring manager replied, ‘We know, but we really want you’ and that has always stuck with me.”
After accepting the offer and moving to Salt Lake City, Reggie became the first in his family to work in the aviation industry, completing the trifecta of his parents and grandparents working in the transportation sector.
“My dad worked on cars and my grandpa worked on trains. Since I work on planes now, our family has the whole transportation sector covered,” he said smiling.
SkyWest is proud to celebrate Black History Month and appreciate the contributions of all those like Reggie who help make the airline the best in the industry.
“We went from seatmates to soulmates pretty fast,” Daniel said with a smile.
wait until a position opened up,” said Daniel. “After about a year I was getting tired of waiting. Then I heard about SkyWest and after doing some research, it seemed like the perfect fit for me. What jumped out to me was its departures and massive fleet. SkyWest has more airplanes in its fleet than all the airlines in Australia combined.”
After completing her flight training and being hired at SkyWest, a friend put her in touch with Daniel so she could get some advice about the airline and to help answer questions about life in the states.
party at the airport. Daniel recruited a friend to take Kylie’s picture in the decorated hall on their way to the party. The friend was recording the event and captured the moment when jumped out and got down on one knee.
After a wild year with the ongoing pandemic, 2020 ended in the best way possible for Daniel and Kylie.
Chicago-based CRJ First Officer Brian Lucas loves to fly and uses his skill set to give back.
In March, a passenger visiting family in Pierre, South Dakota (PIR) was dropped off at the airport and realized he had left his wallet at a relative’s house. When the passenger was unable to reach family members, Bob loaned him his 1996 blue Chevy pick up to go retrieve it.
Stress and concern about COVID-19 has been a challenge for many individuals. To help, Minneapolis-based Flight Attendant Debby Thompson decided to create goodie bags for her fellow colleagues in MSP. The bags include chocolates and a note thanking the crew for their work.
SkyWest flight attendants cross paths with countless passengers from a wide variety of backgrounds and circumstances. That extensive background is what made unaccompanied minor Janiyah stand out to Chicago-based flight attendant Tina Meeke on a recent flight.
For SkyWest Dispatcher Nicole Manson, being Native American is something that she is proud of and holds close to her heart. She is a member of the Diné (Navajo) Tribe and was born and raised in LeChee, Arizona.
SLC Mechanic II Michael Gardner is both Athabaskin and Inuit, two tribes native to Alaska, and although he was adopted and raised outside of his tribal community, Michael still feels a strong connection to his Alaskan Native heritage.
For ERJ Captain Rick Meyer, flying planes was something that he always wanted to do. However, without any family ties to aviation, becoming a pilot wasn’t the typical path in his family.
Sam Capitan is a member of the Navajo Nation. He has been flying with SkyWest since 2019 and is based in Salt Lake City (SLC) as a flight attendant. He loves the aviation industry and hopes to eventually become a pilot.
SkyWest flight attendants cross paths with countless passengers from a wide variety of backgrounds and circumstances. That extensive background is what made unaccompanied minor Janiyah stand out to Chicago-based flight attendant Tina Meeke on a recent flight.
her great grandmother because she and her mom could “no longer live together”.
Tina was so affected by her interaction with Janiyah that she decided to share how she was inspired to help one of her passengers that day. Almost immediately, she began to hear from her friends and SkyWest colleagues asking if there was something they could do to help. “I was overwhelmed with the amount of SkyWest people who came forward and wanted to help our passenger,” Tina said.
supplies. The two had a wonderful outing, purchasing school supplies, clothes, shoes, and a computer and phone with a 1 year of prepaid calling. In addition, several packaged gifts and over $500 in nonperishable food items were delivered to Janiyah.
Tina’s unexpected connection with Janiyah may seem out of the ordinary, but SkyWest people are known for extraordinary service and compassion.
The 
the team made arrangements to bring back two flags that were flown during their deployment. On the certificate of authenticity, it points out that the flag was flown onboard a UH-60 Blackhawk during a three-day combat mission, one of the longest missions of the deployment.
grandparents came to the United States from Spain and Mexico.
For Boise Flight Attendant Vanet Ortega-Garcia, familia is everything! With a deep Hispanic heritage, Vanet is grateful for her experiences and continues to instill the Mexican traditions and culture of hard work and passion to her kids and future generations.
