Actually, industry wide attrition is picking up. As for Mesa, we do have a large group of captains that wont be going anywhere based on their timing in the industry, 9/11, economy, etc. With the addition of the 7 CRJ's and a very, very good chance of additional airframes from other places (wink,wink
) there is a good chance the upgrades will still be much quicker then the regional average.
CBreezy - I assume you are at PSA? You find yourself in a wonderful situation if that's the case as far as movement is concerned.
Facebiter - I think the loyalty and general passion of the Skywest employee group speaks volumes about the quality of company that Skywest is. There is no disputing that. Even more so the fact that we are talking about an airline. Upgrade times are not everything, and we can all attest to the fact that many of the candidates that have the time requirements to be a captain may not have the knowledge and/or skill to do so. But upgrade times ARE in fact a big deal to many people. Quality of live and commuting are also huge factors.
Every company that is going through a growth period will at some time reach a point where the growth slows, stops or even retracts (read Envoy). Envoy is a great company as well. I have a number of friends who work there and very much like it. Envoy at one time had the growth that PSA and Mesa are experiencing today. PSA and Mesa will slow in growth at some point as well.
Point is...
Anyone on their high horse about the company they work for (Mesa or PSA included) are kidding themselves. EVERY company will go through changes. In fact, I can honestly say that I see Skywest going through some of those tough times where maybe they have to make decisions maybe not so popular with their employee group but they do it for the good of the company. Skywest for example cannot continue to compete with the cost structures of companies such as Gojet, Mesa, PSA, TSA, Compass, etc. unless they go through some cost cutting measures as well. I guarantee it. While people consider these airlines to be "bottom feeders", they exist because the market dictates them to exist. AAG wanted cheaper regional cost, they strong armed their way to getting it with Envoy. Do you think your brothers and sister pilots at Mesa or PSA had ANY control or say over that happening? No sir.