Mesaba New Hire Questions

[Steveair]

I'm considering applying to Mesaba and had some questions for you new hires.

Where are you getting based / what aircraft are you hired into?

How long is training?
Is it paid?
Do you get flt. benefits during training?

What is the upgrade time?

What is seniority based off of (age, ssn#, hire date)?

Do you like it?

Rumors on growth?




Thanks in advance!

 

[Ace McCoy]

I'm not a new hire but I have been here for awhile so I hope this helps.

The last award showed 8 people going to the Saab and 6 to the Avro. Saab bases are DTW, MSP and MEM. Most likely you would get DTW or MEM off the bat. MSP could be had in about 6 months or less.

Avro bases are DTW, MSP, MEM and CVG. New hires can expect MEM DTW and maybe 1 or 2 to CVG. MSP takes more than 6 months probably a year because MSP Avro FO goes kinda senior.

Ground school is 3 1/2 to 4 weeks followed by about 3 weeks of sim training. Avro training is a little longer and there is only one avro sim vs. 2 Saab sims.

You are an employee day one. Jumpseat benefits, first year fo pay at 75 hours a month (i think) and your hotel is single occupancy and covered by the company. Seniority is done by age in class. The older the more senior.

I like it here but I didn't have to suffer through a 5 1/2 year upgrade like the fo's now are seeing. A Jan 2000 hire is the junior captain on the Saab.

There are always rumors on growth but we have seen none. If history is any indication it should be our turn. 8 years ago Pinnacle shrunk and we grew. 5 years ago Pinnacle grew and we shrunk. Pinnacle is going through negotiations now but I don't believe we will get any 50 seat jets here. So I think growth will be scant unless NWA pilots give up their 70 seat scope and we are lucky enough to get a few (longshot though)

Bottom line. Good company with good work rules in our contract. If you want to live in MSP DTW or MEM and don't mind flying a prop for a long time Mesaba is a good place to be.

Good Luck

 

[flap operator]

I'm not a new hire, but I can help with most of your questions.


1 - new hires go into both the avro and saab, depending on what slots are left over after the current line pilots take what slots they want. In the last vacancy 2 went to MEM Avro, 6 to DTW saab and 6 to MEM saab. So, it's sort of a crap shoot. It seems that it is WAY easier to hold MSP now since there is finally some movement. I talked to a guy who was hired last August. He was flying reserve on the saab in DTW and for March he'll hold a build up line (reserve AND trips) in his new base (MSP) where he lives.

2 - training when I went through was a total of 3 months, but I went to old school training in MSP as well as in Woodford, England. Now all training is in MSP and I'm guessing takes no more than 2 months including O.E. You are paid your 75 hour guarantee (34.62 hours/paycheck), are given a hotel the whole time in training and you get to have your ID on the first day, so you can travel. The hotel is usually a long term stay hotel so you're not forced to eat out 3 meals a day for 2 months.

3 - Upgrade time RIGHT NOW based on no growth and only on attritian is hard to tell. For me a 4 year + FO it will be another 2 years. That means I'll be at least a 6 year FO upgrading to the saab. FOr a newhire it could be about 3 years. It all depends on about a thousand variables, of which constantly change. You don't want to come to Mesaba for a quick upgrade... beacause right now that isn't happening. THe most junio captain on the latest vacancy has a seniority date of Jan 2000.

4 - seniority is based on age. Oldest is most senior in your class.

5 - Hard question... could be better of course, but there are FAR WORSE places to work than Mesaba. So being a glass half full kind of guy, I'm mostly happy. Except for the regular B.S. one deals with and the stagnant career.

6 - First rule of the airline biz... don't believe rumors. NWA controls every aspect of the destiny that Mesaba has. If NWA wants us to grow, they'll grow us. The growth has favored Pinnacle since our last avro and saab were delivered and they started getting CRJs in 2000. Our future is also held closely by the NWA pilots. There is a big plan... but we'll know about it when they want us to know about it.

Good luck and I hope you find a place that suits you.


FO

 

[beernuts]

can you guys give me a hint on how to apply? I've checked the website and no luck. Thanks.

 

[flap operator]

Send a resume and cover letter here:


Mesaba Aviation, Inc.
Human Resources Department
1000 Blue Gentian Rd, Suite 200
Eagan, MN 55121-1679
Fax 651-367-5392

No job postings on the website or intranet right now. We did get a memo a few weeks ago telling the line pilots hiring will continue at least through the first qtr of this year. They plan on having some attritian all year, so I suspect it will continue. Of course that'll stop if NWA decreases our flying. Send your stuff if you're interested and be persistent. Having someone walk your stuff into a chief is the best way to do it though.


FO

 

[Crizz]

Having someone walk your stuff into a chief is the best way to do it though.

I am in class right now for the Avro. I couldnt agree more with FO. A walkin is the fast track to getting a call. Make sure you have it walked into the MSP chief pilot though, as I have heard there are some long delays if you bring it to a DTW or MEM CP.

Good luck!