Originally Posted by
FighterHayabusa
There are other 135s that do it. It appears Mesa does not, and in my feverish and hasty attempt to rebut, they were included. I withdraw the Mesa "pay to play" argument.
I can only hope that those who feel my post was "flamebait" are low-timers themselves and when they gain a few thousand hours realize they are more qualified than when they first started. Otherwise they should be happy to be replaced by the 190 hour guy who will work for 1/4 his wage.
If my original idea is not the way to get better work rules and pay, then what is?
First of all, hours do not make the man. It is what you DO during those hours that matter. All other things being equal, I would take the 135 cargo guy who has 1000 hours of flying boxes in a temperamental Baron or Cheyenne in all kinds of weather to all kinds of places over the guy who has 10,000 hours putting around in clear, blue skies in his 152. Just because some one has less experience does NOT mean they will work for less. Those pay rates are negotiated by the pilots
already on property, not the new guys who just got hired. Don't believe me? Walk in to any airline out there with your 190 hours and tell them you will do the job for half. I'd like to know how that goes for you.
I'm not going to tell you not to write your op-ed and send it in to your local paper. By all means, do it. But the way to get better work rules and pay is to stay away from places that do not value your skills and contributions to the company's success (like Mesa) and to stand united as a pilot group when managements try to grab too much from the table.