Originally Posted by
DirkDiggler
I'm not even Mesa, but XJT. I saw the letter, it's making a round about on the web. Good on your LEC. I'll post it below since nobody has done so.
April 21, 2017
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In times past, Mesa was a stepping stone to reach the major airlines, whether that was United, Delta, American, or Southwest. Pilots stayed just long enough with Mesa so they could get their 1,000 hours of turbine PC time before one of the majors scooped them up.
Even though the majors are hiring at record numbers, the pilots they are hiring are no longer coming from Mesa, despite the hundreds of qualified pilots here. Case in point, in 2016 United hired 8 Mesa pilots, American hired less than 10 Mesa pilots, Delta hired less than 10 Mesa pilots, and Southwest hired less than 10 Mesa pilots. In 2016, United hired 280 ExpressJet pilots; American hired a similar number from Envoy, PSA, and Piedmont; and Delta got the majority of its pilots from Endeavor.
Why is this important? Well, if your goal is to work for a major airline, you have ask yourself now whether you are standing on the right stepping stone and consider a lateral career move. PSA, Envoy, and Piedmont have a guaranteed job progression to American, and $60,000 first-year pay with bonuses, not to mention work rules and health-care premiums 60 percent less than here at Mesa. Endeavor has a similar job progression path to Delta. Air Wisconsin and CommutAir have career paths to United, without even mentioning ExpressJet. You owe it to yourself, or whoever bankrolled your education, to ask if Spirit, Allegiant, or Atlas are good enough for you. If so, you are in the right place. If not, then it is time to stop working at a place that continues to hold you in low regard with bottom of the industry pay and treatment of you. We see no reason to believe that this is going to change. The only change you can control is who you work for. You want a reasonable pay and career progression? Then go to a company that can provide it.
Sincerely,