Mesaba Info.

[weeks]

Hate to ask, but I searched and didn't find it (maybe I'm lazy).
How long to get MSP domicile, what's reserve like now?
Who's the manager of crew resources or pilot recruitment (the boss to send my resume to)? I'm from MN and would like to try to get back. Appreciate any answers. Thanks.

 

[W&BWiz]

Well how fast you get back to msp is going to depend on what airplane you get assigned. I can only comment really on the avro and saab b/c we really don't know where exactly the crj is going to fit into the equation. I was hired last year when class sizes were about 4 people, and I was awarded msp 2 months after I was online, but my move date was 4 months after I was online. At that time that was pretty slow, if your on the saab. There are saab fo's making it back to msp after about 2-3 months online. Without taking into account the crj announcement, if you were on the avro you could plan on it taking more than a year to get back to msp.

As for reserve, being on reserve in msp isn't terrible. Depends on your way of thinking, if you want to fly, you can pretty much plan on flying everyday your on reserve. Alot of the time you can also get just a couple of roundtrips on your reserve day and go home at night. As far as I am concerned, reserve in DTW totally sucks. You can pretty much plan on sitting in your crashpad for days, at least thats what its been like up til the big announcement.
I would have to say though, no matter what Mesaba is a great company to work for. Throughout the whole year I have been here I haven't had much to complain about at all. Schedulers actually work with you on a lot of things, the training dept is really good, and you get paid while your there, and the people that you fly with are pretty awesome. Hope that anwers your questions.

 

[Workin'Stiff]

I would agree with everything that W&B said except for the reserve part. I have heard of a few people getting over guarentee while sitting on reserve. So, reserve in DTW isn't quite as bad as people make it out to be...

 

[SigAV8R]

Hate to ask, but I searched and didn't find it (maybe I'm lazy).
QUOTE]

I'd go with the second part of your answer b/c it also describes me. We'll have to teach you how to use the search function...then it's on to FMS programming.

 

[RampTower]

We are hiring 150 pilots, to cover the 15 CRJs and any attrition from now til the end of the year. Assuming we get the 20 options, we're going to have to hire 300 or more pilots.

You will be moving up the domicle lists pretty fast from now til the end of the year. So you may not be on reserve as long as expected. Upgrades will fall from the current 5 years to probably 3 years at the earliest. (The more CRJs we get, the more the upgrade time will fall.) All indications show that most if not all 15 CRJs are going to MSP (but we won't know until June). MSP could really use the aircraft because of the upper-seniority the base has- it will help flush out the top Saab dogs and allow the bottom dudes move up. exciting times at Mesaba!

 

[Dodge]

MSP could really use the aircraft because of the upper-seniority the base has- it will help flush out the top Saab dogs and allow the bottom dudes move up. exciting times at Mesaba!

It would be nice if some of the people in the top 250 had some desire to work for a major as well, but alas.

 

[CubanSmoker]

It would be nice if some of the people in the top 250 had some desire to work for a major as well, but alas.

No kidding! Heck, I wish half the people I flew with wanted to eventually go somewhere else like a major. Roughly 70% say, "Yeah, I'm a lifer here... No sense going to the bottom of another seniority list now that I'm in my upper 30's"

Even with the 10 year extension on the Avro, I wonder if I'll ever fly it as a captain. But alas...

 

[DetoXJ]

No kidding! Heck, I wish half the people I flew with wanted to eventually go somewhere else like a major. Roughly 70% say, "Yeah, I'm a lifer here... No sense going to the bottom of another seniority list now that I'm in my upper 30's"

Even with the 10 year extension on the Avro, I wonder if I'll ever fly it as a captain. But alas...

Same logic as our top 1/3 FO's who keep passing up the Captain slots. To each their own. Life must be pretty good in the right seat for the senior FO's just as life is pretty good in the left seat for the senior Captains.

 

[DetoXJ]

It would be nice if some of the people in the top 250 had some desire to work for a major as well, but alas.

It would be real nice if the FO's in the 450-550 range had some desire to upgrade as no one likes to fly with career FO's, but alas.

 

[Dodge]

It would be real nice if the FO's in the 450-550 range had some desire to upgrade as no one likes to fly with career FO's, but alas.

I agree whole heartedly. After taking the first upgrade I could after 5+ long years, I only realized how much more I wanted to get a job at a real airline.

However, with no new airplanes for that last 6 years and a shrinking fleet, the only way for the FO's to upgrade is for captains to leave. Sooooo, with all the career XJ pilots here, that only leaves around 200 captain slots, company wide, that will ever come available. In other words, what you complain about in your quote is something that can not physically be changed.

But, with a new airplane on the way, maybe some of those pilots that have a little more motivation and desire than others, will be able to make their own future instead of having handed down to them.

 

[RampTower]

Welcome to Summer @ XJ

June vacation cancellations! At least they were nice enough to post a "preview".....

 

[WMUSIGPI]

are summertime days off harder to come by there? Does everyone just end up getting minimum guaranteed days off or something

 

[airmasn]

Mesaba is famous for having no clue how to staff the airline...not too long ago we went from people on furlough to now cancelling vacations. Crew planning is full of idiots.

I'd say if you are senior enough to have a good vacation slot cancelled (like summer or, God forbid, Christmas) then you are probably senior enough to hold a schedule with more than 11 days off (guarantee)...just an opinion though.

hope that makes sense

 

[Madcow]

If you were a flight instructor who just got the required 1000/100, would you apply to Mesaba today? This is my first post.

 

[FlyingFerris]

I did and I'm in the 5/30 class.

 

[RampTower]

If you were a flight instructor who just got the required 1000/100, would you apply to Mesaba today? This is my first post.

Apply. Not sure if XJ is one of your top choices but even with most regionals hiring, jobs are not easy to come by due to competition among other pilots who may have twice your time. So always apply to as many airlines when u meet the minimums and keep updating. More job offers, the better. Good times to come at XJ (finally)! Get on the growth train while you can!

are summertime days off harder to come by there? Does everyone just end up getting minimum guaranteed days off or something

Your monthly schedules will always be the same like getting an average 14-15 days off. But vacation weeks guarantee your off during a specified time, so u may get an extra 4-5 days off depending on how many days of work your vacation week wipes out on the schedule you are awarded.

After a few years at XJ, I learned to never bid vacation during the prime summer months for fear of cancellations. (Though if you get cancelled one year, it can not be cancelled the following year.) And it's just the Saab vacation slots getting the axe? WTFO?! Maybe life is better on "the jet". Speaking of when the CRJ arrives, which one will be "the jet"? I'll let the Avro and future CRJ drivers sort that out............

 

[platinumclub]

Why anyone would EVER want to go back to MN after leaving is beyond me...but maybe I'm the only one who hates 9 month winters.

 

[Flyinhi]

Is MSP and DTW the only bases? How hard is it to get DTW?

 

[Dodge]

MEM is also a base. It is the most junior for Avro captains and many of the new hires get placed there right out of the shoot. DTW is the other place that new hires go to. The bottom quarter of the Saab captain list in DTW is the most junior while the top quarter of the Saab captains are fairly senior. Weird.

There is also a small Avro base in CVG, around 60 pilots.