Mesa?

[YAYO]

Wondering what the hiring status is at MESA. What plane are most of the new hires being assigned too and where are they being based. Also what is the good and "not to much of the bad" about MESA.

 

[SouthTex]

Uh Oh, here we go again...

Who would like to field this first?

-Satan

 

[khsgt]

Don't come here

I work at Mesa currently, I feel I can field this question

Don't come work here, I promise you don't want to. That's all the relevant information that you need to know.

 

[TEXAN AVIATOR]

ExpressJet is hiring... Don't go to Mesa

 

[Earl Williams]

The majority of the hiring right now is due solely to attrition, and it's anyone's guess as to which A/C a new hire will get. Previous classes recently have been a mix of CRJ, ERJ, Dash, and 1900 (which covers them all). If you're assigned the CRJ, chances are good that you'll be heading to ORD or IAD (although a few have been going to BNA). ERJ is MCO. Dash is either DEN, PHX, or GJT. 1900...way too many to list.

The good of MESA? That's kind of an oxymoron, but I'll bite. If you come to Mesa with high expectations, you'll most likely be dissapointed. On the flipside, if you come here with realistic expectations...well, then it's what you make of it.

In essense, there are two livelihoods at Mesa: being on reserve versus being a lineholder. Same as with any other carrier, yet at Mesa there's a HUGE difference between the two. Reserve at Mesa is one word...H-E-L-L. I seriously wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Eight days off (per 28-day bid cycle), constant ready reserve (from 8-12 hours a day!), and interaction with crew tracking (which means you suffer...hard!). In contrast, if you hold a line, it's again really what you make of it. I would say that mid-junior lines average between 12-13 days off, and being a lineholder reduces your chances of having to interact with Satan...err, I mean crew tracking on a regular basis. I was fortunate to only sit reserve 3 weeks (only because I didn't make the roster that month). I can honestly say that I wouldn't have survived long given an extended stay on reserve.

If you're interested in coming to Mesa for the potential opportunity to make this a career carrier, then I would HIGHLY suggest elsewhere (i.e ExpressJet, SkyWest). However, I doubt anyone with a sane mind comes to Mesa for that reason. Mesa views its pilots as temporary employees, and consequently the pilots view themselves the same. Come here, get your time, and get out. Like other Mesa pilots, I continue to remind myself that I'm here for one purpose, and one purpose only...put up with the crap long enough to build time, and get out. The good thing about Mesa is that you will have experienced just about the worst, so ANYTHING else is just that much better!

...although, ultimately, I wouldn't disagree with khsgt's recommendation also.

Oh yeah...the BAD? Well, I doubt you'll have any trouble getting responses from others on this board.

 

[YAYO]

What do the reserve times and upgrade times look like?

 

[Earl Williams]

I'm not really sure what reserve times are like on the ERJ, Dash or 1900. For the CRJ, reserve time has been fairly short due to attrition, and overall lack of staffing (which will always be the case). Since PHL just closed, and ORD is ramping up, it's hard to say.

Upgrades are anyone's guess. There was a recent upgrade that was hired in 10/2003 on the CRJ, but don't hold your breath on 2-year upgrades continuing.

Sorry I can't be of much help...those two questions are extremely subjective, and can change on a daily basis.

 

[YAYO]

Thanks for the all the help

 

[Gelopilot79]

I went to interview with Mesa a month ago. They really need pilots bad and looks like that at least for the next 6 months to a year.
I didn't get the job tho, and all my buddies that work there said "its a blessing in disguise" I really didn't want to work there honestly cause of a few freinds that work there from what they told me about it. Grant it, I really would love to begin my jet-career going, but ultimatlyt I would really LOVE to fly for Expressjet, and Skywest/ASA being the next, even Eagle, but the upgrade is not buying me right now. So I am just chugging away trying to make my small sacrafice now as I begin to CFI here to get to XJT then regret going to Mesa.
Getting the job with them now is not that difficult cause they are hiring a bunch, they say attrition, but let me say this, attrition can be a flag for a co. depending on the REASON for the attrition. I found out from a few on the inside that most of them are leaving cause there fed up with Mesa, rather then what the co tells you at the interview of it being pilots going to majors, (they are actually going to 135's corporate, and mostly other regionals, oh and some to majors)
I didn;t get the job for a few reasons: 1) I didn't have close to the multi mins they wants which is 100, and I have only 57. I didn;t have the total as well, which I heard is 700, and I had at the time 685. 2) I been flying jumpers in a C182, which is a good time builder, but they like to see a current job with more IFR approaches, night, usuing procedures, etc. Plus I was just about to start my CFI job to get better exp. 3) I wasn't really granted the interview by Mesa themselves, my career advisor at my alma mater just put me on a list to be granted the interview since they were coming here to conduct interviews, and I told my advisor I am not at the mins yet, but why not see what happens. Must of been a glitch. The technical interview was pretty basic, but I stumbled on a few things cause I was told I had the interview just 2 days prior and didn't really prepare like I wanted. Plus I was in the middle of getting ready for my CFI Oral, then this all came into play at once. But it was a dang good interview expeirence and got to fly out to PHX for free.
My buddy is in training with them now, he said he is very unimpressed with how disorganized the co is, and he regrets leaving to prior job flying Challengers, and he didn;t even start IOE yet. So theres a few nuggets of info to digest. But if you have @ 700/100 and want to fly jets for a few years and get your time and leave, hey Mesa is for you then. Good Luck!

 

[Drill Sgt. Dad]

I have a friend who is a General manager of a Pizza Hut in CLT. He has four drivers who are also Mesa pilots. Does this say something about the pay and QOL at Mesa?

 

[RJP]

I really didn't want to work there honestly cause of a few freinds that work there from what they told me about it. Grant it, I really would love to begin my jet-career going

Nothing personal here but you are a great example of what is wrong with this industry. You don't have 700TT, not even 100ME and you interview at a company that you don't want to work for just to get your "jet-career going". You were fully ready to work for a company that your own friends told you not to apply to just for the "allure" of a jet.

It's just Fricking sad. This is how the evil empire keeps expanding.

 

[Spinplate]

So far so good for me!! Love it! I left a 135 job to come to Mesa. At least I will know when my days off are vs. being on call 24/7. Its definitely what you make of it! Most ppl bitch and whine about Mesa, but they have no clue most of the time or have never worked there, they just listen to other ppl complain. You cant expect to go from a CFI or jump pilot gig right into a jet getting 15 days off a month and making over 100k/yr. You will bust your a$$ at Mesa and some of the things in their contract are lame, but there is consistency here and we dont have all our eggs in one basket. Mesa deals with multiple majors' so at least you have a little more job security. Attrition is high, but so are upgrades. We have 20 upgrades just announced in the CRJ alone. Say whatcha say, but its all about you and your attitude. If you listen to all of us complain then you will have it etched in your mind that certain airlines are better and some are crap. Good luck! Make the best of it wherever you go! (when you get your time up)

 

[RJP]

You cant expect to go from a CFI or jump pilot gig right into a jet getting 15 days off a month and making over 100k/yr.

Sorry, you wanna expand on that? 100k/yr of what? Certainly not dinero americano.

 

[doh]

RJP, reread his post! It says... "you CAN'T expect...".

 

[dueguard1]

I WOULD TAKE THE GIG (@Mesa) even if it was only for six months...At least that would make my resume more competitive w/ the thousands of other Comair, Mesaba and whoever other furloughed folks out there......Heck it's better than just having Mom n' Pops Flight School on Paper........Besides all of you guys doing the Bitchin' and moanin' already have the 135/and or 121 experience, stop giving hell to the people trying to get a foot in the door!

 

[HowlinMadMurdoc]

I WOULD TAKE THE GIG (@Mesa) even if it was only for six months...At least that would make my resume more competitive w/ the thousands of other Comair, Mesaba and whoever other furloughed folks out there......Heck it's better than just having Mom n' Pops Flight School on Paper........Besides all of you guys doing the Bitchin' and moanin' already have the 135/and or 121 experience, stop giving hell to the people trying to get a foot in the door!

And the race to the bottom continues...

With all due respect, you just don't get it. It's attitudes such as yours that's part of the problem with the industry today. It's called SJS.

Someday, when YOU have more experience, you might actually understand where those of us with FAR more experience are coming from.

Rant over...

HMM

 

[Mike man]

Why not go to CommutAir, get your time and leave.

Also I have a question about this...(Also where did you go to school?)
...to be granted the interview since they were coming here to conduct interviews...and got to fly out to PHX for free.

If Mesa came to you, why did they fly you to PHX?

 

[Inconceivable]

For the Mesa folks--(no flames, please)

two things that I experienced at EXA (and I guess still go on at PCL) that drove me insane were:

1. Pay was consistently wrong every month--Entitled to pay credit for say 90 hours, actual flight time (in the computer) 86 hours but still only paid 76-happened almost every month

2. Constant extensions, junior-manning and pushing the legal to start/legal to finish envelope as a means of staffing the airline.

I have never seen this anywhere else and was wondering if you deal with this at Mesa.

 

[Otto Coarsen]

Descriptions are right on the money. There is no BS about it working at Mesa is HELL, and I wouldn't reccomend it to anyone. I sat reserve as a Dash Captain for almost 2 years. I sat ready reserve hundreds of times. I talked to crew tracking (truely satan) on a daily basis. I was always ALWAYS on the cusp of 30 in 7. Reduced Rest is scheduled on approximately 60% of the overnights. The remaining 40% consists of 18+ hour sits in outstations.

In a 28 Day bid period, expect at least 4 4-day trips worth 14~ hours. They will regularly use the "you're making per diem" as an excuse. A whole $1.17 an hour.

When you shoot an approach down to mins twice and decide to return to your departure airport as your alternate, be prepared for crew tracking to call you and tell you the trip has been cancelled. This means you just worked for free.. A violation of the contract? Yes! but who cares... They'll tell you to grieve it and nothing will ever happen... In fact the union will use these grievances as bargaining chips for issues like PBS and Narrowbody rates.

In almost 2 years I've been shorted at least 2000 Dollars of pay, and now I'm engaged in battle over about $3500 that they owe me upon resignation. When I say battle, I mean dept of labor kindof stuff... You have to fill out a timesheet.... Yes, A timesheet.... every month. Good luck with that. They don't pay you correctly anyhow, so it's all symantics.

The management pilots for the most part are a "good old boys club" (with the exception of the System Chief Pilot who is awesome) and if they don't like you, be prepared to reap the consequences. If they do like you, you can violate FARs and even criminal laws and be promoted to their ranks.

The list of bad is endless... Seriously I could go on all day... Do not come to Mesa... I was singing a different tune for my first 6 months, but honestly with the aquisition of a certain crew sched manager from CoEx this place went from barely tolerable, to unbearable.

 

[dueguard1]

And the race to the bottom continues...

With all due respect, you just don't get it. It's attitudes such as yours that's part of the problem with the industry today. It's called SJS.

Someday, when YOU have more experience, you might actually understand where those of us with FAR more experience are coming from.

Rant over...

HMM

Hey Murdoc,
How many mainline folks did you care about back when you took your first regional gig, did you even think ....
"Hey I'm taking away work from the Mainline, Hmm Let me not take this job because, Ohh I'm racing to the bottom myself"

Yeah right give me a break!

 

[HowlinMadMurdoc]

Hey Murdoc,
How many mainline folks did you care about back when you took your first regional gig, did you even think ....
"Hey I'm taking away work from the Mainline, Hmm Let me not take this job because, Ohh I'm racing to the bottom myself"

Yeah right give me a break!

Well, let's see...I work for Skyway Airlines. Do you know who we are and who we provide regional lift for? That's right - we're the regional feed for Midwest Airlines and ONLY Midwest. We don't fly anything larger than the DoJet...you know, that 32-seat flying speedbump. We also have those small props, you know...the 1900.

So explain to me, how working for Skyway, took away a Mainline job...

Your time will come but, in the meantime, quit whining about not being about to get into the right-seat of an RJ at ONLY 900TT. Count your blessings because just in the not-too-distant past, the mins for regionals were over 3000TT.

BTW, I came to Skyway from the 135 world.

Thanks for playing.

HMM

 

[jetfueljunkey]

And the race to the bottom continues...

With all due respect, you just don't get it. It's attitudes such as yours that's part of the problem with the industry today. It's called SJS.

Someday, when YOU have more experience, you might actually understand where those of us with FAR more experience are coming from.

Rant over...

HMM

Maybe if ALPA national and the MAJOR airlines weren't too proud to fly a SJ 13 years ago we wouldn't be in this position today would we! i don't want to fly a jet for any rejoinal...but I do because that is where you all too greedy mf'ers 15 years ago were above flying something so small! Let the regional carriers fly those RJ's! Why didn't you scope that flying in, therefore effectively saving your flying instead of beating your chest proclaiming you are above flying that small stuff! Right...f28 for USair....RJ, DC-9 the very first RJ...It is all a bunch of sh!t

 

[FlyinScotsman]

I WOULD TAKE THE GIG (@Mesa) even if it was only for six months...At least that would make my resume more competitive w/ the thousands of other Comair, Mesaba and whoever other furloughed folks out there......Heck it's better than just having Mom n' Pops Flight School on Paper........Besides all of you guys doing the Bitchin' and moanin' already have the 135/and or 121 experience, stop giving hell to the people trying to get a foot in the door!

How about you stop trying to get your foot in the door and get some experince, there is a reason that you can't fly 135 until you get the time. Take your time and build up some real flying, CFI, get your CFImulti, get a job flying boxes for a while(that will open your eyes). Then come to the door with your resume and you will walk right through it instead of having your foot in it.

edit: I see you have your MEI sorry!

 

[ground stop]

FlyinScotsman,

truer words were never
written.

 

[RJP]

RJP, reread his post! It says... "you CAN'T expect...".

Thanks for the clarification. I missed the silent "t" because of the lack of a ' . Was too drunk to notice.

 

[Gelopilot79]

Nothing personal here but you are a great example of what is wrong with this industry.

Nothing personal taken RJP, no worries, and I respect your perogative on your response. But let me say if you think whats wrong with the industry is all because of pilots wanting to propel thier flying expeirence with a slight possibility to move onto something bigger and faster, then honestly i have to respectfully disagree imensely.
But I agree with what you said about me going to the job and "not really wanting to work at Mesa" I should of phrased that better, I really would of loved to have been offered the job, it would of been a great leap for me and I would of stayed at Mesa however long I needed to pay my dues however long it would of been. But I now have the op to keep chugging along building my time to work up to a co that I probably would be happier with, see what I am getting at? I don't want to come across like one of those 750TT guys who just take a jet job opp as just like "another step in the ladder to get me going". Hey I understand we have to pay our dues, and I am willing. I was the happiest man on earth when I got my first flying job in a C182. And I still take pride in strolling up to a C172 b4 I fly with a student. Yes, I rather be at a point where that 172 I stroll up to is a nice jet, but I am not taking any of this for granted.
That being said, may I dare ask what you think of the rich fellows that walk into a right seat of a C/Erj with 250TT after daddy paid 30K to one of those thieving grabastic money launderers of a co that give you training to get you a interview with a regional at 250TT? I am sure we would have some common ground there!. .lol.
And I met some of them, and they think they are Mr. Glory pilot flying a jet at low time!

 

[Dash8301]

It's this simple if you go to MESA you are a whore and you deserve to be treated like the piece of S*#t that you are. Respect yourself a get a real job that you can make a career out of.

 

[FreightNazi]

I went to interview with Mesa a month ago. They really need pilots bad and looks like that at least for the next 6 months to a year.
I didn't get the job tho, and all my buddies that work there said "its a blessing in disguise" I really didn't want to work there honestly cause of a few freinds that work there from what they told me about it. Grant it, I really would love to begin my jet-career going, but ultimatlyt I would really LOVE to fly for Expressjet, and Skywest/ASA being the next, even Eagle, but the upgrade is not buying me right now. So I am just chugging away trying to make my small sacrafice now as I begin to CFI here to get to XJT then regret going to Mesa.
Getting the job with them now is not that difficult cause they are hiring a bunch, they say attrition, but let me say this, attrition can be a flag for a co. depending on the REASON for the attrition. I found out from a few on the inside that most of them are leaving cause there fed up with Mesa, rather then what the co tells you at the interview of it being pilots going to majors, (they are actually going to 135's corporate, and mostly other regionals, oh and some to majors)
I didn;t get the job for a few reasons: 1) I didn't have close to the multi mins they wants which is 100, and I have only 57. I didn;t have the total as well, which I heard is 700, and I had at the time 685. 2) I been flying jumpers in a C182, which is a good time builder, but they like to see a current job with more IFR approaches, night, usuing procedures, etc. Plus I was just about to start my CFI job to get better exp. 3) I wasn't really granted the interview by Mesa themselves, my career advisor at my alma mater just put me on a list to be granted the interview since they were coming here to conduct interviews, and I told my advisor I am not at the mins yet, but why not see what happens. Must of been a glitch. The technical interview was pretty basic, but I stumbled on a few things cause I was told I had the interview just 2 days prior and didn't really prepare like I wanted. Plus I was in the middle of getting ready for my CFI Oral, then this all came into play at once. But it was a dang good interview expeirence and got to fly out to PHX for free.
My buddy is in training with them now, he said he is very unimpressed with how disorganized the co is, and he regrets leaving to prior job flying Challengers, and he didn;t even start IOE yet. So theres a few nuggets of info to digest. But if you have @ 700/100 and want to fly jets for a few years and get your time and leave, hey Mesa is for you then. Good Luck!

I am glad I learned to spell in high school and didn't waste my time going to college like this guy did. And he wonders why he didn't get the job. He should learn to spell first before worrying about getting a "jet job".

 

[scar1900]

It's this simple if you go to MESA you are a whore and you deserve to be treated like the piece of S*#t that you are. Respect yourself a get a real job that you can make a career out of.

I love how this "airline pilot" who was "screwed by mainline" also hates Mesa (check the profile). Anyone else you want to blame for what's happened to your life. Things going that well for you? It would be a better world without mainline and Mesa, wouldn't it be? You ever beat your wife to let out a little of that hate?

 

[Gelopilot79]

I am glad I learned to spell in high school and didn't waste my time going to college like this guy did. And he wonders why he didn't get the job. He should learn to spell first before worrying about getting a "jet job".

Yeah, geeze, man I guess that was the reason././ .I had to write a composition b4 the interview. guess I must of screwed up huh... . excuse me if I had to rush through that post while running out the door
The "Nazi" in your name must be fitting if you think taking time to meticulously. . .( me·tic·u·lous.ly I did you the favor of self-scrutinizing it for you) be checking every grammer for a small random post on a message board! The guy wanted to know about the co, I saw it and decided to wing it at the last minute cause I figured i had some info he might like to know about. The childish banter on some responses like this on this message board is dizzing especially when it comes from "professional pilots".
I never gloated about being a college student, and if you want to hack on us, then glorify us on where you are without no college. I am sure you may have a decent job, grant it, a college degree is a bit overrated, but if your so acheived like you proport yourself to be, then please praytell . . .Unless your a capt for AA, UA, Southwest, CO Air, or any well reputed world renown co. . .then I will stand corrected.