flapshalfspeed

Mesa has a lingering reputation from stories told by 1900 drivers on the Air Midwest certificate--that operation and management team/culture withered away a very long time ago.

Myself and several other people who have recently come back to the 121 world/USA/etc. from other carriers/countries have made multiple posts about how the *current* Mesa is a decent place to work compared to our previous exposures to the 121 RJ world.

Like any regional, I'll state the caveat that you simply shouldn't do this job unless you: a) are single, b) have your finances in order, and/or c) have some form of spouse/parental/outside support for the first 1-2 years (or indefinitely, in the event of flagging growth or an economic downturn).

Mesa's current group of chief pilots are top notch stand-up guys who will go to bat for you unless you're really, truly screwing up/lying to them.

Mesa's training department is a training department--not a checking/politics/evaluation department. Compared to Republic, Endeavor, Eagle, and TSA (in recent history at least), you're not going to get a pink-slip or an "unscheduled" LPC because someone didn't like what you posted on a message board during contract negotiations.

Mesa's growth is solid right now, but like any regional nothing is guaranteed. You'll probably have a line in IAD a month or two out of training, there will be a major shakeup with ORD planes possibly going to IAD in September, and who knows what will happen with CLT/PHX/LAX/DFW flying with the AA merger. The bottom line is we're getting more planes, and staffing them on time. I'd say try to get an IAH/E175 class if you can b/c there will be more relative growth there (and it has autothrottles/trackpads/you can stand up in it without slouching if you're over 6'0").

At minimum, we have no 50 seaters. I understand a lot of Envoy/XJet/TransStates people have fought long and hard to hold the line on pay and benefits, but the 800 pound gorilla in the room is the aging fleet of 50-seaters in the US 121 system--there's no amount of solidarity or rabble rousing that will change the simple math--the more money you're making, and the more 50-seaters your company flies, the less job security you have as a new hire.

That last sentence may tick a lot of people off, but if you're looking for your first 121 job, it's real talk you need to hear.