Mesa? Can someone please explain...

meritflyer said:
The 1.5 year upgrade time was told to a class that started around 3 weeks ago. I have several friends in it.
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Man, if everything management told me in class was true, we'd have a new pilot contract, 70 seaters, Delta flying, and I'd be upgrading in about 6 months.

I'll agree the pay is better after year one over at Mesa compared to Pinnacle right now, but they still have some horrendous QOL issues that even we have better. If we're on the ground for more than 5 hours, we can at least get a hotel room to hang out in.

As far as their pilots needing to take more pride in their uniform, I wouldn't say it's an industry-wide problem. I'd say it's a GENERATION-wide problem. Most of the guys I see around here that don't care what they look like tend to be the younger crowd.
 
BobDDuck said:
Training departments will say just about anything to keep new hires around. I was told that upgrade would be about 2-3 years when I started here. I'm approaching year 2 and it is 5.5 years and growing with no growth of any kind in sight. And you want to know the funny thing? They are STILL telling new hires it will be less then 2 years.
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They're actually being somewhat honest lately, I know someone who started class on Monday and when he interviewed they told him it's around 5 years right now.
 
EDUC8-or said:
They're actually being somewhat honest lately, I know someone who started class on Monday and when he interviewed they told him it's around 5 years right now.
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Wait... you know somebody who just got started here and you didn't tell him to run away screaming? What's the matter with you?;)


I saw you in CLT the other day but I had my mouth full of frozen yogart ("the new TCBY") and didn't think it would be appropriate to yell all the way across the terminal.
 
Mmmmm.... TCBY! You should have yelled and shot yogurt everywhere.

Yeah, I told him to go somewhere else but he didn't listen. It only took me a year and a half to get a build-up line!
 
At Chicago Express, I was told the upgrade would be one to two years, then after a year or two as a Captain I could go to ATA. After a year, I was sitting at the same relative seniority, and the company went out of business shortly after I left. ATA still has pilots on furlough three years later, and is less than half the size it was when I started.

Interviewing at ExpressJet, I was told to expect upgrade in five years or so. This was reiterated many times in class. Here I sit, 2 1/2 years later, and I have four stripes and three months on line as a Captain. The current upgrades are hanging at exactly two years.

From now on, I am picking my jobs based on two things: The people who work there, and the people who run the show. As long as I can work for a good management team, and work with fun people, then I will be happy. The other stuff like pay, work rules, airplane orders, upgrades... that all changes faster than the weather. That is why I'm happy where I am now.
 
FlyChicaga said:
From now on, I am picking my jobs based on two things: The people who work there, and the people who run the show. As long as I can work for a good management team, and work with fun people, then I will be happy. The other stuff like pay, work rules, airplane orders, upgrades... that all changes faster than the weather. That is why I'm happy where I am now.
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I don't know man, looks to me like the Yoda skills are progressing nicely. :D
 
Remember ONE very important thing folks!

By the time you 'hear' about a quick upgrade, and then hired at that company, you are to late!
 
One gripe I do have with Mesa is the way they pay their pilots. Mesa pilots do not get paid for wx cancels, atc cancels, mx cancels, or other uncontrollable cancels. I know Skywest pays their pilots for these cancels. I am not sure what the policy is for other regional airlines. Just imagine waiting to take off or returning to gate a couple times, the flights gets canceled, and then no pay! I don't know if this is true, maybe just a rumor, but on the radio in CLT one day it was raining ice, and someone said on the frequency, "Looks like Mesa is working for free today!"
 
Mavmb said:
One gripe I do have with Mesa is the way they pay their pilots. Mesa pilots do not get paid for wx cancels, atc cancels, mx cancels, or other uncontrollable cancels. I know Skywest pays their pilots for these cancels. I am not sure what the policy is for other regional airlines. Just imagine waiting to take off or returning to gate a couple times, the flights gets canceled, and then no pay! I don't know if this is true, maybe just a rumor, but on the radio in CLT one day it was raining ice, and someone said on the frequency, "Looks like Mesa is working for free today!"
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This makes sense. business wise. If you aren't flying, why get paid? If you are guaranteed X amount of hours per month, however, then you should be compensated if delays or weather cause you to go under that amount.
 
mojo6911 said:
This makes sense. business wise. If you aren't flying, why get paid? If you are guaranteed X amount of hours per month, however, then you should be compensated if delays or weather cause you to go under that amount.
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Oh boy, you're not in management, are you? Mesa's contract is block only, so they could take 5 hours to complete a flight that's scheduled for 2 and they would only get paid for 2 hours. Also, if they get an airplane preflighted, deice, taxi out, sit for 2 hours, and then cancel they don't get paid a dime. Or a cent for that matter. You're working, so you should get paid.
 
EDUC8-or said:
Oh boy, you're not in management, are you? Mesa's contract is block only, so they could take 5 hours to complete a flight that's scheduled for 2 and they would only get paid for 2 hours. Also, if they get an airplane preflighted, deice, taxi out, sit for 2 hours, and then cancel they don't get paid a dime. Or a cent for that matter. You're working, so you should get paid.
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That does suck, but seems to go with the industry. Most flight instructors are in the same boat. I am not saying it is right, but the pilots signed on for it.
 
Mavmb said:
but on the radio in CLT one day it was raining ice, and someone said on the frequency, "Looks like Mesa is working for free today!"
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It was during the summer, all departures were stopped and the ramp was closed, so everyone was just sitting waiting for the weather to pass. We ended up blocking 4:30 on a 2:11 flight, so over 2 hours of extra pay. I kinda felt bad for them, no one should have to endure what those guys put up with. They already work at mesa, that is bad enough. I have flown with Captains that flip them the bird as they taxi by...

mojo6911 said:
This makes sense. business wise. If you aren't flying, why get paid? If you are guaranteed X amount of hours per month, however, then you should be compensated if delays or weather cause you to go under that amount.
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Pilots at the airlines aren't contract employees, we are paid per hour, not "per flight". Delays are a cost of doing business. A duty hour pay system would fix that issue, but might bring others.
 
mojo6911 said:
That does suck, but seems to go with the industry. Most flight instructors are in the same boat. I am not saying it is right, but the pilots signed on for it.
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There are so many things wrong with the way pilots are paid that it's hard to know what tops the list, but the block-only BS Mesa pulls is one of the few methods of screwing on pay that has the potential to directly affect safety.

If you don't get paid if you don't fly, there's a major incentive to fly the trip regardless of the mechanical condition of the aircraft. Paying for cancellations is a good way of ensuring that the crew has the safety of flight in mind, not their paychecks.
 
zmiller4 said:
If you don't get paid if you don't fly, there's a major incentive to fly the trip regardless of the mechanical condition of the aircraft. Paying for cancellations is a good way of ensuring that the crew has the safety of flight in mind, not their paychecks.
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While I agree, this, again, is rampant in the industry. Freight dogs are hit with this all the time. Look at any GTA or Airnet.

And again, the pilots signed on for this.
 
mojo6911 said:
That does suck, but seems to go with the industry. Most flight instructors are in the same boat. I am not saying it is right, but the pilots signed on for it.
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Yeah, that's why I didn't even bother to apply, but things need to change for the better one airline at a time. I think they're up for contract negotiations soon and I really wish the best for them.
 
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