mesa will rule the planet!

[RichO]

I just don't understand how a group of people can be so stupid. Why don't you put your plane keys down for second, and try to understand the big picture and how the industry as a "WHOLE" is being effected by your actions.....What happen to that great career as an airline pilot earning wages beyond your wildest imagination, working 10-14 days a month, having a great retirement....well I can tell you that every month that goes on that pilot's continue to bend over for these wellfare wages, the dream isnt' realized for many........have any of you tried to imagine your life in 10 years and what advances you would have made in your career....let me help you out here......

HMMMMM.....ok, (a typically bend over pilot's life in 10 years)

yeah, I'm sitting here in my left seat gaining 5 lbs a month flying this 500 seat RJ around the country side, what a life, boy I'm sure glad we were able to win the raise of $1.25 in our last contract....I'm so happy, I'm finally making $50 an hour as a captain.....oh boy, a dream come true........

anyways, what a joke, that's all I have to say......good luck and I hope you get that raise to $50............



(ok, I did my weekly *itch....).....

 

[Otto Coarsen]

I heard that Mesa is hiring people with ATP mins straight into the left seat of the Dash. How much truth to that? Do they have to have previous 121 experience?

It happened.... It was covered rather extensively on this board if you search it....

They tried it last January, pretty much everyone without 121 experience washed out (9 of 15 made it, 1 retained as an FO) The class contained mostly United furloughees... The rest of us who were successful got our arses handed to us and were understandingly humbled....

Mesa mgmnt most likely learned their lesson in this (what looks good on paper, doesn't always turn out as expected) cost saving measure... I believe their current policy is to only grant a "street captain" award under specific circumstances... I believe they also modified the training schedule, adding more lessons in the sim, for those who elect or are permitted to take type rides... Still it seems Mesa is sending higher time new hires to the Dash.. Reasoning is that the upgrade will be fairly swift....

Flying the Dash from either the left OR right seat out here in Denver carries a unique set of challenges. One challenge is the terrain and airports we serve (Eagle, Aspen, Telluride, Jackson Hole, Gunnison, Grand Jct, etc...) Mountain flying with special procedures coupled with a lack of automation (round dials), and a pretty weak Autopilot system. On top of that, we deal with typical Mesa crap IE: bogus dispatch releases from overworked and inexperienced dispatchers, unreachable crew trackers, MEL'd autopilots, and inept ground crews.... You can also throw in a training department with a infamous reputation of firing pilots with years on the job during PCs and PTs...

What I'm getting at is that it is a pretty overwhelming cocktail of hardship being the PIC in this place.. Sure the starting pay can't be beat, and a free type rating sounds pretty nice, but in reality being a "street captain" with bare minimum experience is not very realistic at all...

The up side to these realities, is that I work with a VERY competant and VERY cool group of line pilots. I have yet to meet any Dash Trash here that I don't enjoy flying with...

Sure there are many stories and rumors about Mesa floating around out there... Sometimes they're false, usually they're true. There's no shortage of haters out there either, but again in reality, you see more of that on the message boards than anywhere else. The bottom line with Mesa is that, the line pilots are just like any other pilot group, some nasty some nice, some good some bad, but we live under the tattered umbrella of a HUGE company with too little infrastructure to support all of the growth. Because of that, we have no shortage of logistical problems. I will say this, Mesa will DEFFINATELY prepare you for any airline job in your future! Once you deal with the hurdles you must clear here on a daily basis, I'm sure a well-oiled-machine type company will be cake..

 

[aviatrix]

Otto,

Well said. Thanks for stating it like it is and with humility. You've exhibited the type of characteristics of the few "off the street" new-hires who can cut it in the program.
Good luck with all the "issues" you have to face. I agree that they are a great group of pilots working for a crappy company!
Oh well..........what can ya do?!?!?

 

[350DRIVER]

Otto Coarsen,

As I have said many times and will continue to say is that you did something that was pretty difficult to do as a street hire. The D8 is the hardest training program that Mesa has in place not to mention obtaining the type on the first go-around. 121 PIC time is "gold", two years from now you will be sitting pretty.


3 5 0

 

[BFE]

In terms of labor contracts the guy is right. The managments of regional airlines want their labor in line with MESA. The managments at the majors want their labor in line with Southwest.

It's a race to the bottom!

 

[Lancair]

MEsa Mind Set

See that's their problem at Mesa. Eveyone thinks that this job will prepare them for an airline in the future. Got news for you guys over there. This may be your only airline the way things are going. So enjoy retirement on the great contract!

 

[climbhappy]

BFE IS RIGHT/ richo, you're wrong

richo,

you and too many others seem to think mesais responsible for thinks like changes in buyer preferences, 9/11, recessions, and larger /broader issues like the emergence of the LCC as the only acceptable airline business model. it's feast or famine and right now there is famine. sooooooooooooo. what you do is wait it out or do something else. i'm over forty and won't work for $20.00/hr. look at pinnacle's lousy pay..how about skywest's new contract. and on and on.

you've just bought into the popular misconception that somehow unions control their own destiny. that's ego for you!

 

[aviatrix]

Re: MEsa Mind Set

See that's their problem at Mesa. Eveyone thinks that this job will prepare them for an airline in the future. Got news for you guys over there. This may be your only airline the way things are going. So enjoy retirement on the great contract!

Good guess, Lancair, but pilots at Mesa are leaving in droves for major airlines!! I dont think anyone there thinks it is a "retirement airline."
I know that's not something people on this board want to hear. They want to tell Mesa that they are 'stuck' with their cruddy contract for years and years. However, they are stuck with it for as long as it takes to upgrade, get some turbine PIC time, and get the heck out! A few years at most! Around the same amount of time FO's at a few other places (i.e. XJet, Eagle, Horizon etc) are taking just to get out of the right seat.

 

[aviatrix]

In terms of labor contracts the guy is right. The managments of regional airlines want their labor in line with MESA. The managments at the majors want their labor in line with Southwest.

It's a race to the bottom!

Uhhhhh..........Southwest is hardly the bottom! What rock have you been hiding under?!?!
Mesa is toward the bottom, surely, but it is a trade-off as it's a place where you can get some 121 time quick and move on!
Dont compare it to Comair or Coex where people are looking to retire from those regionals!

 

[BFE]

Uhhhhh..........Southwest is hardly the bottom! What rock have you been hiding under?!?!
Mesa is toward the bottom, surely, but it is a trade-off as it's a place where you can get some 121 time quick and move on!
Dont compare it to Comair or Coex where people are looking to retire from those regionals!

What rock are you living under? Prior to the concession free for all at the majors there was no comparison. Southwest was at the bottom in overall contractual cost compared to the big 7. I see you're like most people, living in the current times and can never get past the payrate page of your contract.

When you speak of not comparing MESA to Comair or COEX, you missed my point. I'm not MESA bashing. I'm only stating regional airlines managments love with MESA's overall contract and their desire to have the entire regional industry with a comparable contract. If you don't see that, then you're the one living under the rock.

 

[Ben Franklin]

Otto Coarsen,

121 PIC time is "gold", two years from now you will be sitting pretty.

What does a 2nd year D8 Captain make at Mesa?



Sincerely,

B. Franklin

 

[Cows Go Moo]

Right now, a second year Dash captain makes $39.10 an hour. Guaranteed contractual raises would make that same captain, at year 5, $46.37 by September, 2007.