Originally Posted by thrufru

Sadly, Miami Air has been on a continual downward slide since the founding CEO retired. His replacement came from People Express and had such a fear of overextending the company that he virtually crippled it in the process. He "retired" this past month. He has been replaced, as noted above, by yet another Eastern Scab.

Additionally, negotiations for the CBA are now over as the company has done nothing but stonewall for years, throwing out false numbers and attempting to disseminate propaganda that can be refuted by a 7 year old. If it hasn't occurred in the past few days, filing for mediation is imminent.

Miami Air got her start by hiring pilots that no other airline would take. They were lucky to have jobs and were willing to accept whatever compensation was offered. Fast forward several years and you saw legacy carriers cutting staff and declaring bankruptcy. In addition, you saw thousands of 737 typed pilots hit the streets with the closure of Aloha and ATA. This led to Miami Air's second significant pool of applicants; qualified, capable, unemployed pilots without skeletons in their closets. As airlines have returned to profitability, hiring has skyrocketed and wages have risen, this pool has evaporated. Not only that, but virtually every single pilot that was hired during that period has quit. Just take a quick gander at Miami Air's seniority list and you will see that virtually all of the F/O's have been with the company for greater than 10 years (unable to upgrade or move on) or for less than 3. The middle of the list is gone.

Miami Air has taken to hiring pilots that in many cases have nothing more than piston time. While that in and of itself is not a problem when you consider that has been the regional model for years, those pilots fly between 800 and 1000 hours per year. At MAI, it's between 200 and 250. It is a disaster waiting to happen. The filing of ASAP reports has sky-rocketed.

When a pilot is tasked with running an operation as is the case with Miami Air, the wages should be commensurate with the responsibility. Not only is that not the case, but it is the exact opposite. The current top rate for a Captain is $143.00 per hour. The proposed rates have never risen much above $170.00. While these might seem big to a layperson, in this industry, they are insulting. Add to that that a pilot at Miami Air has virtually ZERO opportunity to earn anything beyond guarantee, and you have a very grim picture, indeed.

If Miami Air's owner has any desire to see his company around for much longer, he needs to replace the inept and self-serving management that he has, offer competitive wages and benefits and make it a company that people should want to work for.

So to sum up... As a stepping stone in your career... Stay the hell away.