Originally Posted by
GearMover
Ahh Skillet you make me smile. What you say is true to a point, I’ve been based in Honolulu and YES it is a difficult place to make it on Mesa FO pay. Now if I remember correctly Skillet you are TDY so you get per diem and a hotel so forgive me if I can’t let it pass that you are some kind of authority on living in Hawaii. I did it without per diem and with out a hotel and guess what it can be done! You are correct we do only have 11 days a month off, and there are days you have to work from 6:15am-8:30pm but the are not the rule. Most days are from 6-2 or 2-8. Yes there are a lot fatigue calls because of those 6am-8pm days, those days suck period. If you need to call in do it, you shouldn’t have to but yes they build some crappy lines with those days built in. I’ll give that one to you. Your next point is rent, again your TDY please don’t talk about things you have no experience with. Rent, if you want to live within a few blocks of Waikiki is going to be high. I’ve seen 1 bedroom without kitchens for over $3000 a month near the beach! If you move inland just 10-15 blocks rent drops off to $750-$850 even below is not unheard of. I’ve lived in Arizona myself and I paid $750 for an apartment and it was more then a few blocks from the ocean. Next time you talk about rent look at places in Salt Lake, Ewa Beach, and Waianae THEN tell the world all you know about renting in Hawaii.
I do feel bad for you having to fill out up to 48 weight and balances a week for only $36,000 a year. I’m sure the person who has come into your TDY hotel room pick up your dirty towels and clean the tub feels bad for you filling out 48 pieces of paper a week. I know the rookie cop who may get shot every time he/she pulls over a car feels bad you have so much paperwork to do. I’m sure the CFI who flying with a bunch of foreign students feels horrible for you too. If you don’t like your Hawaii schedule then don’t bid for Hawaii TDY.
My point: GET OVER YOURSELF. There are people trying to make informed choices about their flying future. You’re not helping at all by telling only partial truths or stretching the facts. Hate to break it to you but the fact that you are a regional pilot does not make you special. There are 600 or so people at Mesa alone just like you. Do something different to stand out. Instead of complaining how much Mesa sucks do something to change it (how about saying something like if you come to Mesa and you get based in Hawaii feel free to email me and I’ll help you out any way I can). That would be something different around here! I am saying this to you Skillet but in no way am I singling you out. I was in IAD not to long ago and there was a guy who as talking about wanting to upgrade but he wasn’t going to upgrade if he was going to get stuck in Hawaii. He went on and on how Mesa sucks because he would be a Captain in Hawaii. My question to him was simple “So you came to Mesa, a place that has a Hawaii base and you may get based there as a junior Captain and it’s the companies fault?”
The door out of Mesa Airlines doesn’t have any bars on it. Like you said if you had the brains or work ethic there are a ton of other jobs. I don’t know you but maybe you are short on both fronts and that’s why your still here. I doubt you are short on either brains or work ethic but complaining about everything is always so much easier then doing something to change your situation. This is all you need to say to anyone thinking about coming to Mesa.
TO ALL THOSE THINKING ABOUT APPLYING AT MESA: MESA HAS A HAWAII BASE AND IF YOU COME HERE YOU MAY BE ASSIGNED HERE AT SOME POINT.
Your going too send a new hire out to "no whiteboys in Waianae" to live because it's cheap. Yeah thats smart and over and hour (with a car) in traffic. I lived out in Hawaii long before Mesa. And just because I was TDY and you were making it work in Hawaii doesn't make you some Da Hui local. Mesa has been really good to me and I appreciate that. Yes I think smarter people could run the joint but many companies fall under the greed system of business. Hawaii is poorley ran and the airplanes are falling apart. Other than that Mesa is in very good position to be solid regional for years to come. But don't plan on getting PIC here for you new hires. It won't matter in 5 years anyway if the economy holds. I tell it like it is. You guys sound like some Mesa recruiters trying to save the airline from impending doom because there are not many qualified pilots out there. Regional pay is to low for the years, degrees and time invested. And I'm tired of no tea in the bags guys like you not standing up for better pay. You know who I am!