I've included rebuttals to JO's BS in [brackets].
Ornstein: Mesa growing despite potential labor shortage
Tuesday April 17, 2007
Mesa Air Group Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein said hiring enough employees to keep pace with growth, much of which is within his own company, will be one of the most significant challenges facing regional airlines [mainly MESA]
this year.
Last month, Mesa's service agreement with Delta Air Lines was amended to include 14 new CRJ900s for Delta Connection [and lose the Dash-8s in JFK and eventually lose ERJs in MCO]
, most likely at Cincinnati or Atlanta. It also expects to launch its Chinese joint venture with Shenzhen Airlines by September with a CRJ200. Mesa, which holds a 25% stake, will handle operations while Shenzen will be in charge of marketing and planning (ATWOnline, April 11).
Some current Mesa pilots will head to China to fly for the new airline [for sub-par wages, with no contract!],
Ornstein told ATWOnline last week at an analyst conference in Puerto Vallarta. "There is not a glut [nice wording!]
of pilots and the major airlines are hiring," he said, pointing to his carrier's in-house Pilot Development Program in Farmington, N.M., where enrollment has dropped nearly 40% this year.
He said Mesa and Shenzhen have applied to use a former military airfield located between Beijing and Beijing Capital International Airport as a base. He also revealed that Kunpeng Airlines is a placeholder name for the new JV and may change.
Ornstein remains optimistic about the future of go!, which began flying last summer in Hawaii and currently operates 64 daily inter-island flights with four CRJ200s that he hopes eventually to replace with CRJ900s. The carrier has a market share of about 10%-11%, most of which is coming out of Aloha Airlines, he said. While it currently is unprofitable, he expects go! ultimately will turn a profit [suuure].
"Building a brand and equity costs far less than it would cost for us to buy [another carrier]," he said.
He declined to discuss the ongoing legal battles with Hawaiian and Aloha, which kicked off when Mesa Air Group announced plans for the low-fare startup more than a year ago. [the truth hurts]
http://www.atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=8611
HAHAHA... staffing problems! Ornstein is struggling because he doesn't have that "stack of resumes" on his desk because the secret is out... working for Mesa sucks!
"There is not a glut of pilots and the major airlines are hiring,"
Who wants to go work for an airline where management refers to your workforce as a glut!? Sure, some pilots are moving on to the majors but a majority are moving to other first tier regionals which have much better contracts. Most are sick of the abuse, only eight days off a month and unstable future as the potential for a lost codeshare would ship CRJs to China.
Some current Mesa pilots will head to China to fly for the new airline, Ornstein told ATWOnline last week at an analyst conference in Puerto Vallarta.
Keep in mind that the offer on the table is sub-par to other contract RJ work worldwide.
I sure am glad I don't work there anymore. Ornstein is thirsty for fresh blood and nobody wants to fill that hiring pool!!!
