Mesaba,Is or is it a good thing?

[55driver]

I take it Kim is a she! Just wanted to make sure before i addressed it Ms. o Mrs. johnson.

55

 

[the turtle]

a friend from my flight instructing days has been with little red a little over three years now, and I hear he just finished AVRO fo groundschool. that sucks.

 

[xjcaptain]

sucks compared to what? being unemployed, furloughed, CFI'ing? Probably won't get a lot of sympathy being employed nowdays at any 121 operation. Sounds pretty rough.

 

[WrightAvia]

a friend from my flight instructing days has been with little red a little over three years now, and I hear he just finished AVRO fo groundschool. that sucks.

I suppose 5 to 7 years from now, he'll be complaining they made him upgrade to Avro Captain too.

 

[Cargoboy]

ha ha! Good rebuttle. I am sure he is all bummed out!
N-E-who....

 

[4fanman]

a friend from my flight instructing days has been with little red a little over three years now, and I hear he just finished AVRO fo groundschool. that sucks.

Yup it does. Currently, 3 years at XJ = junior fo. 4 to 5 years for senior fo's.

 

[xjcaptain]

Would you prefer to be unemployed like many thousands of others? Things could be better at XJ, but that can be said about nearly every place. Just having so many furloughed friends with a gread deal of experience, I'm getting a little tired of hearing so many FO's whining about not upgrading as quickly as they would have liked. Keep in mind that many of these FO's were hired with minimum time/experience 1000/100. Not too long ago these times wouldn't have been looked at (Prior to the late 90's hiring boom). Prior to this, most had 4 years of school, 3 - 4 years instructing/135. Then 2 years minimum to upgrade. Total of about 9 - 10 years from beginning college to left seat at a regional. Now many did their 4 years at school, 1 year (maybe) as a CFI and now are about 3 years in the right seat. Maybe 7 - 8 years max from start of college. Looks like maybe biding a little more time in the right seat of a 4 engine jet shouldn't look so bad, and upgrade will be coming at about the same time frame it did in the late 90's. 9 to 10 years from start of college. Maybe some should spend a little more time LEARNING and realize that possibly more experience prior to upgrade is a good thing. Would I like to see it come sooner for some of these people sure, but let's keep it in perspective.

 

[avrodriver]

Yes I buy the whole having a job is better than not having one story....who wouldn't.

No I don't buy that spending a little bit more time flying a 4-engine jet for Twenty some bucks an hour after being at a company for 3 or 4 years shouldn't look so bad.

Most of the captains I flew with while I was at XJ all got into the Capt payscales fairly quickly.....that's probably why the F.O. scales were sold out back in the day. XJ f/o's have every right to want some da.mn movement. There's more to this than stripes. AD

 

[WrightAvia]

Maybe all the guys that left Mesaba just prior to 911 and were caught with cancelled classes at main line, or furloghed from their new main line jobs, should be allowed to come back at their old seniority at Mesaba. Then they could back flow all the low timers back out into the street, where they would have something to whine about.

 

[Cargoboy]

4-5 years as a f.o. ain't that bad for a pilot in the xj at Mesaba. They are lucky enough right now to be there and should take it easy. There time will come. Experience is always good.
Now if they can only get that contract straightened out there pay wouldn't be so bad. I can see where they are needing the money to be better for F.O.'s
I don't know if I could get lucky enough to get the XJ at Mesaba instead of the Saab I would be willing to make it a career stopping place.

 

[Saabslime]

if I could get lucky enough to get the XJ at Mesaba instead of the Saab I would be willing to make it a career stopping place.

Yeah........?? Flying that ol' XJ would be soo much better than lowering yourself to us saab drivers level. Anyone remember what that "XJ" cruises at? I've heard its something like 800 knots..................

 

[Cargoboy]

"Anyone remember what that "XJ" cruises at? I've heard its something like 800"

With a 700kt tailwind!!

Meant nothing against the Saab......just rather sit with a jet...if ya know what I mean!

 

[XJPilot547]

WrightAvia is a complete idiot... What does the guys who left XJ prior to 9/11 have anything to do with 4-5 yr FOs here. The point that the guys were making is that Mesaba isn't the greatest place right now. I don't think anyone can argue that. We don't have a new contract, we're losing flying, and at 4-5 years, FO pay here is dismal. I do feel lucky for having a job but don't bash the guys for wanting more than being a career FO. Just make your choice wisely. 99% of XJ pilots are the best to fly with. We're fighting for a good contract and we'll get it. The company will grow once again and just like any cycle I believe Mesaba will be one of the places to go. Good luck to all those who want to fly here. Your guess is as good as ours where we will be next year from now, but I'm guessing we'll be doing alot better.

 

[ERJpusher]

We don't have "XJs" at Chautauqua. We used to have Saabs, but now we just have "RPs" .

Yes, I am being sarcastic.

Cargoboy, you might want to find out what "XJ" really means before you start telling people you want to fly one!!

 

[dogman]

Yeah! Boy, that XJ! She's a real hand full!