MESA and ACA may merge!

[46Driver]

Greetings from Montreal. ChinaClipper has it right according to my captain for this month (former West Air pilot for 7 years.) If this goes down, I'm almost certain to leave for a helicopter job in the gulf - or if Comair takes the DoJets, go to Comair. I can't see working for MESA for any length of time.

As somebody else said, I smell United in this as well. Using my tax dollars in a bailout to take away my job.....

House X, if you are going to commit Hari Kari, at least take out J.O. on your way out......... BANZAI!!!!!!!!

 

[sleepy]

So instead of a job flying larger aircraft for a new LCC, the ACA pilots get bought out by the worst regional airline in the industry, MESA. What a funny business this is.

 

[Heavy Set]

Sleepy,

Well said. I would not be a happy camper with JO at the helm... Tilton at UAL is the puppet master I am sure. I bet Lorenzo is impressed too.

 

[WileE]

If anyone ever questions why I am happy to be working at a Frac now I just point at this kind of shennanigans. No way will I ever willingly get back into the 121 biz.

 

[Mesa Lifer]

Relax and drink the bong water....

First off WSCRJ, turn off the computer and enjoy the new kid. You have another three weeks until you have to put up with this again.

As for Freedom as some have expressed concerns over, the official unofficial plan is to empty the certificate by April. 700/900 aircraft are being moved over to Mesa at about two per month. The big rumor was to free up the certificate in time for Branson's new start up. We currently have two or three 700's at Mesa and I think two 900's but I could be wrong. Who knows how that could affect the DAL codeshare IF, and I mean IF this goes through.

Now, about the pilot group bashing. I have some friends at other airlines including ACA that told me where I could go for voting yes on the contract. After I explained what things were like at Mesa, not my opinion but what actually happened, they realized it was a sh*t sandwich. The corporate culture of this company is f'd up, not the pilot group. Had we walked off the job, they would have replaced us because there were plenty of guys willing to work for Freedom.

Now to original point of my post....relax. I know this is scary for the ACA guys because of Mesa's reputation. Our pay isn't bad, but the QOL issues do stink. I am upgrading to the left seat of the CRJ and going from being a very senior FO to being a lower than whale sh*t at high tide Captain and having 8 days off a month for the forseeable future. That's my choice. And when I say the pay is not bad, everyone here quibbles over a few bucks an hour. Bottom line everyone here as a FO (all regionals) make lousy wages. But the fact remains and I have said it before, there is no way this company can support a merger like this. We do not have the infrastructure to support what we currently do. In training right now they do not have enough instructors and they run classes 18 hours a day.....I agree with some previous posts that this may be nothing more than smoke and mirrors for JO to make a little extra cash. OR, his ego cannot let him not be the first to turn a regional into a major.

A lot are also curious, our scope in Section 1 makes Mesa the controlling group in ANY merger/aquistion. Both are ALPA.

And one last thing, Mesa guys are nervous too because this kind of thing could make this whole company implode. From the inside believe me, this company could not handle growth at this rate.

I feel for you guys that are single income at ACA and worrying about this but relax, my guess is it 1)Won't happen, or 2)Will take FOREVER to occur.

Sorry for such a long winded post.

-ML

 

[KSwift]

".... And when I say the pay is not bad, everyone here quibbles over a few bucks an hour."


I believe in year two on the CRJ, as an F/O at ACA. I make more than your top CRJ F/O pay. $35.39. Please correct me if I am wrong

 

[stillaboo]

I believe in year two on the CRJ, as an F/O at ACA. I make more than your top CRJ F/O pay. $35.39. Please correct me if I am wrong

You are not wrong. Mesa FO pay tops out at year 9, and it is $35.04, or $31,886.40 annual (13 bids at 70 hours min guarantee).

Of course, Mesa is not Eagle, so there are no such thing as 9th year FO's either, though there are some 4th years (and that pay is $31.90 hr, or $29,029 annual, since I'm sure you'd ask)

 

[Patriot328]

Re: Relax and drink the bong water....

Our pay isn't bad, but the QOL issues do stink.
-ML

If I were working at Mesa as a captain on the Dojet (and using the your 20-64 set TP rates as you don't have a 30 seat jet rate), I will would be making $20,000 LESS a year. I make more flying this do-do around than a comparable captain flying the 50seat planes.

Your pay does suck.

Your QOL does stink.

I hope to have no part of it. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. I pray to never have to use the callsign "Airshuttle" before my flight number.

 

[House_X]

I know guys at JO...they are absolutely miserable. JO wages for BE1900 crews is a crime. This is nothing against JO pilots personally. But the fact is, everyone knows how JO treats their pilots, apathy seems to be the norm rather than the exception.

I'm sure the ACA pilot group will fight this one like it's "The Alamo"...mainly to preserve our contract, and preserve what little quality of life we have. The fact that ACA Board is contemplating this deal is very dissappointing and make me wonder if Goldilocks is a hoax or decoy for alternate intentions.

I'm sure many of us at ACA have spent last night contemplating other careers. I'm not upset at JO pilots...but if this deal goes down...I can only blame the leadership of ACA...they are the ones who will put ink on the deal...they are the ones who lead us to these rocky shores.

House

 

[Carl_Everett]

I
I'm sure the ACA pilot group will fight this one like it's "The Alamo"...mainly to preserve our contract, and preserve what little quality of life we have. The fact that ACA Board is contemplating this deal is very dissappointing and make me wonder if Goldilocks is a hoax or decoy for alternate intentions.


House

Don't read too much into that. The ACA Board would not be doing its job if they didn't consider it. They have to take any offer that would affect the shareholders into consideration. That is why there is a Board.

 

[g159av8tor]

QUOTE]Originally posted by stillaboo
You are not wrong. Mesa FO pay tops out at year 9, and it is $35.04, or $31,886.40 annual (13 bids at 70 hours min guarantee).

[/QUOTE]

Most of our CRJ FOs with 2-3 years seniority in the plane make about $10-15K/YR more than that. Dear God!!!

With all our soft money and work rules, as a J-41 reserve CA on year two wages (making no appreciable per diem), I was enjoying 11 guaranteed days off (plus 3 extra paid days at home per month minding the buckets) and netting a low-fifties income.

Dear Jebus,
I promise I'll never complain about my displacement again. I'll stop wasting my **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ing life away on days off playing with myself. I'll stop being a prick to people I don't like. I'll be a good boy from now on. No more god**CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** porn, no more **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ing booze, no more **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ing; I'll follow the **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**ing Ten Commandments like a soldier. I'll be a god**CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** saint. I'll stop swearing all the time (not just for Lent) too. Just please don't let Mesa buy ACA and ruin my life and 1748 other ACA pilot's lives.

Tailwinds...

 

[climbhappy]

first to WilE..........you said you're glad to be in fracs.........no more shinnanigans!

how is warren buffet any different than JO? you guys aren't getting a raise........you're losing money..........Buffet doesn't make deals with pilots......


saw a ACA crew today in Boston..............said the MGt would never back the deal........the problem with liars, crooks and thieves is..............they always want to get something for no money down and for free...................

 

[mckpickle]

You wanna know just what a scumbag JO is. Just listen to his voice mail. 877-MESA-CEO.

He credits all the growth at MESA because of the shiity contracts that MESA has with it's employees. Thats right, he even states, "I know particually our pilots have taken some flak from other pilot froups in the industry but we have more growth than them."

Well you know what, no matter how many "well paid" captain seats there are there are still going to be just as many FO seats. You MESA guys are just hoping to find a captain chair before the music stops.

And if anyone thinks that integration of an ACA/MESA list would put the ACA at the bottom or become anything other than date of hire, I know plenty of ACA guys who will shut the place down, and to hell with the RLA.

 

[Beantown]

I'm voting for the theory that UAL has there hands deep in this thing. They don't want to lose those gates (IAD) and they don't want any more LCC's running around taking there passengers. B/C ACA owns the gates, there is no way UAL can just hire someone to replace them.

The take over of the ACA pilot group would also be one of the worst nightmares for mesa.

I think it would be a nightmare for everyone. As a former CCair pilot I have been through JO's acquisition class and it's not pretty. (it also includes one yr of unemployment, shrink, then shutdown.) I hope this is a bluff in his part. No one at Mesa (that I have spoken to) wants this to go through. It's a disaster for all of us.

Please remember, this is not the Mesa PILOTS fault. We hate JO more then anyone of you can even imagine. This is Mesa Mgmt. Good luck. I hope for all of us this falls apart. -Bean

 

[Lou3]

Mesa will go to Atlantic holders if necessary
Tuesday October 7, 11:54 am ET


CHICAGO, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Mesa Air Group Inc. (NasdaqNM:MESA - News) said on Tuesday it is prepared to take its proposed purchase of Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings Inc. (NasdaqNM:ACAI - News) directly to shareholders if rebuffed by the airline's management.
Chairman and Chief Executive Jonathan Ornstein said on a conference call that while Mesa is prepared to consider adding cash to its all-stock bid, he believes Atlantic shareholders would be better off getting stock in the combined company.

Ornstein also said the emergence of United Airlines and its parent UAL Corp. (OTC BB:UALAQ.OB - News) from bankruptcy was clearly the biggest risk in the proposed deal.

But he believes United, the world's second largest carrier and a partner of both Mesa and Atlantic, will emerge stronger than ever from Chapter 11 protection. "That's a bet that at this time, we're willing to make," he said.

 

[Av8tor]

9:04AM Atlantic Coast Air upgraded at CSFB (ACAI) 11.05: CSFB upgrades ACAI to Neutral from Underperform following MESA's unsolicited takeover offer; while initially skeptical about the deal coming to pass, firm has learned that ACAI has extremely weak anti-takeover defenses, and when coupled with a disgruntled shareholder base that is very skeptical about mgmt's plan to turn the regional carrier into a low-cost airline, those low barriers make the odds of MESA's success in an offer quite high.

 

[Herman Bloom]

Dude

We are so screwed. Time to seperate the men from the boys.

Men( and Women, of course)...if you don't like Mesa's work rules, if you think their pay is a joke, if you really believe that their contract is bringing the industry down...then quit. If you have any self respect, any ambition, any vision...then quit.

And please spare me the "gotta feed my family" crap. I have a family too. But I also have balls and the will to better my situation.

Just being emphatic to prove a point. Think about it. And let's all hope that this does not happen.

Not looking good, though.

Dude.......

 

[House_X]

Dude

We are so screwed. Time to seperate the men from the boys.

Men( and Women, of course)...if you don't like Mesa's work rules, if you think their pay is a joke, if you really believe that their contract is bringing the industry down...then quit. If you have any self respect, any ambition, any vision...then quit.

And please spare me the "gotta feed my family" crap. I have a family too. But I also have balls and the will to better my situation.

Just being emphatic to prove a point. Think about it. And let's all hope that this does not happen.

Not looking good, though.

Dude.......

What are talking about...do you work for ACA? If you do, then grow some balls and get ready for a contractual trench warfare.
How about not caving in? How about supporting your union and fellow brethren? How about trying to keep the airline industry from becoming whored out to the lowest bidder?

Men from the boys? Are the men the ones willing to work for slave wages and slave workrules. Do you even have a copy of the ACA contract? When you see the JO contract you will weep like a grandmother.

If more and more ACA pilots have attitude like yours, then yes, we are truely screwed.

Let's stay unified and fight this one.....

House

 

[PadFull'oTrim]

Anyone else heard rumors that Wexford Holdings (parent of Chautauqua, Shuttle America, and Republic) might also be making an offer for ACA? It seems they also need gates at IAD and the ACA acquisition would secure that as well as protect their current and future interest in Airways, Delta, and United. It prevents another "low cost carrier" on the East coast.

This also provides some security just in case their is some future grounding AD on either the ERJ or CRJ.

 

[bogberto]

I think this is all about JO being pissed because ACA was going to beat him to the LCC market. This will slow that down a lil bit.

Contrary to a few junior jerkoffs on our board, I know of no-one at MAG who wants any other pilot group stapled to the bottom of our list.

I just don't see it happening. MAG will fall apart long before the ink can dry on this deal.

-B