What is the projected upgrade time for Mesaba new hires?

[Regional4life]

I am not 'in the know" But if you get on with Mesaba now, give it a shot you would be an FO for quite a while. That is unless we grow more. Now if you look at the writing on the wall, we are staged for growth. NWA should order more 900's, will they come to us? Who knows, but XJ just spent millions on ground trainning equipment just when our 900 and 200 deliveries were ending. That does not make sense, unless there is future growth. Also, as much as I do not want to see the 9's at NWA leave, they have a schedule to retire them as they hit a certain date. What will they replace them with? Should have came here when we were hiring street captains-but hind sight is 20/20. Maybe someone else has better insight.

The reason that they spent millions on training equipment is that the entitlements from the manufacturer are ending with the last deliveries. When they orginally cost out the upstart, training expenses were factored into the startup proposal of doing offsight training. Bringing it "back home" (so to speak) is and has always been more financially benefical. Same thing with the Avro. We had more entitlements with BAE than we do with Bombardier, but eventually, that's why we brought the sim back to MSP. You only need about 28 airplanes to make a sim cost neutral. It isn't necessarily based on expectant growth. Besides, they sure wouldn't spend a dime in today's market without a signed contract of future growth somewhere. Any additional equipment needed for growth (like training equipment) is and has always been placed in the bid projections sent out to the airlines. Our initial bid to NWA for the 200's and the 900's included only contract training. It becomes a cost benefit for the company to bring more training inhouse as the bid projections are now lowered from the originals, thus showing better training numbers in the books for XJ. It doesn't necessarily mean more growth as it does better books for NWA.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

If 28 planes is the break even point how does that explain the need for the CRJ200 sim?

 

[GRAAB HIRBOUBI]

If 28 planes is the break even point how does that explain the need for the CRJ200 sim?

Was an OLD sim Bombardier had in boxes and were happy to get rid of at a low low price.

If we had to buy a brand new SIM like the 900, we would never have bought it.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

Ah so it's sort of like the 2nd Saab sim then.

 

[IamGumbyDammit]

Was an OLD sim Bombardier had in boxes and were happy to get rid of at a low low price.

If we had to buy a brand new SIM like the 900, we would never have bought it.

This sim is the Independance Air sim that NWA got when they bought the Independance certificate.

 

[BoDEAN]

Does Mesaba allow you to continue to hold your seniority number at another airline while I am on furlough?

 

[dal757]

Pay rates?

Could someone post the new Mesaba payrates for 2009. I thought I saw somewhere that they are going up per the contract??!!

 

[BighitterLama]

New Hires

Flying is increasing in December for Mesaba. Dir. of Flt Ops said 200 pilots needed.

 

[xjhawk]

My oh my. All the talk of growth, I just look at where the signs are pointing. Someone is growing. Who knows. I think- Oh who cares. we'll all find out Friday when the big meeting in Atlanta gets out. Shhhh its a secret!

 

[WMUSIGPI]

Hmm I will be in ATL Friday morning....Hopefully for just an hour though. Maybe I can sit in on this meeting for a bit...

 

[i fly boxes]

my god you guys are at it again with all these supposed announcements, havent you had enough yet?

 

[Raskal]

my god you guys are at it again with all these supposed announcements, havent you had enough yet?

Try walking into the crew room at 8am...it's like my daughter's brownie troop.

 

[WIPilot]

Could someone post the new Mesaba payrates for 2009. I thought I saw somewhere that they are going up per the contract??!!

CR9 Captain pay is going up 4%
All of the rest are going up 3.5%

 

[Flyer1015]

Big announcement FRIDAY!

 

[WMUSIGPI]

Big announcement, either I sucessfully nonrev to TPA or not.... will know at 10am, Friday....