First off, do not work for Mesa, at least not 'til they get a decent contract, and J.O. gets struck by lightning while riding his bike.

Second, as mentioned above, is a bit of a trade off, do you get your seniority number first and build your time on the line, or do you wait just a bit longer and get in but actually have the time required to upgrade. Either way is up to you and your needs. Ab Initio, and programs like this one are about to become very popular, and within the next 5 years due to the pilot shortage upon us, most regional carriers will be hiring at 250, 300 hours....pure demand and supply, and demand is much bigger right now.

So, I guess it boils down to economics, do you drop 12K or however much it is now? Or build a little more time and wait for the industry to catch up to you, and maybe have a few more options?