Make No mistake
Mesa and MAPD, SJU etc. killed ACA.
When UAL declared BK several years ago, they hired your beloved Mesa, an airline they had fired for there piss poor service, to lower the pay at all the UEX carriers.
The pilots at ACA gave a small pay concession, but it wasn't enough, they needed more to compete with Mesa. We refused to work for Mesa wages. This left ACA with no other choice, we proudly started Independence.
While many mistakes were made, Mesa is directly responsible for the life and death of Independence Air. Throughout Independence's short life management constantly came to the pilot group asking for Mesa payrates, work rule and benefits. Each time, we refused. We would rather die than give in to lowering the bar on regional pay.
And so it is, that tomorrow Independence Air will die. But make no mistake, you and your band of San Juan whores helped make it possible. At least we never gave up our pride or our dignity. We drew a line in the sand and we refused to work for less. We refused to work for those wages, and you are proud you were able to pay $30,000 for an interview.
So what's next for you guys at Mesa. I suspect you'll set your sights on AirWis, as you already did once, or Comair. Maybe you can steal their flying, too. But both of those groups have proven they're unwilling to work for Mesa wages. Since they won't win the battle to be the lowest bidder, you'll probably destroy them, too.
Most Indy pilots, including myself, have moved on to bigger and better jobs. I think I volunteer for the pilot interview board. Maybe I'll see you there. You won't get the job. We'll never tell you this, but between the SJU, MAPD and Mesa, we'll find a reason to just say no, one more time.