Originally Posted by
chrisreedrules
I mean its actually pretty simple... Pilots dont like Mesa and don’t understand why pilots agree to work there considering:
1) Absolutely the worst health insurance in the industry. I looked at my friend’s plan (Mesa CA) and it is truly garbage.
2) Subpar pay and work rules. I know Mesa recently upped some of their compensation but it still doesn’t touch most of the other regionals.
3) It is true that many pilots who fail out of other airline training programs end up at Mesa. 2 of the pilots who failed out of my initial are now Mesa pilots.
4) The schedules are pretty terrible and you do not have any scheduling flexibility. Mesa will continue to try and staff their flying on reduced aircraft manning. As other regionals raise the bar to attract new pilots to their ranks, Mesa will keep trying to operate the aircraft it has with fewer and fewer pilots which means very few days off and an inability to swap trips.
5) There are other regionals with much quicker upgrade and much better career progression that are hiring like gangbusters right now.
6) With Endeavor now offering not only vastly superior compensation and work rules but also a positive space ticket to base if you miss your first flight, the commuting thing is super easy. Not to mention the AA WOs offer their pilots parity with mainline pilots for boarding priority on any AA branded flight.
7) Being a contract carrier and specifically one that puts itself between a, “rock and a hard place” when it comes to being able to attract pilots and stay profitable Mesa is more at risk than other regionals for losing its flying over the next few years.
8) There are statistics published about what legacy airlines the regional airlines lose pilots to. Mesa doesn’t send nearly as many pilots to mainline legacy carriers as other regional airlines.
Spoken by another pilot that knows nothing about Mesa except how to get a jump-seat on our airplanes. Just another troll.
Here is where a pilot at Mesa agrees with your observations:
1. If you are married with kids and need to rely on our health benefits, seriously consider someplace else.
2. $36 per hour for FO’s is pretty pitiful given where the industry is headed.
3. Mesa does seem to give guys a second chance when they come from another airline’s training program. (One of the reasons I think a few of our guys don’t end up at the majors).
Here is what is completely incorrect (at least on the Ejet in IAH):
1. As an FO, my schedule is great. Min Credit. Weekends and Christmas off. Schedules only suck where we are seriously short staffed. Right now, that is Ejet CA’s. (Which they are trying to remedy.) We have no reserve unless you want reserve or missed the deadline for bidding.
2. There is no other regional with a faster upgrade on the Ejet.
3. No one really has a clue financially how Mesa is doing. It is a private company.
4. There are no statistics about individual regionals and where they lose pilots to, unless the regional puts the statistics together.
Here is my additional thoughts:
1. For a Houston area pilot, there isn’t a better regional that doesn’t involved a commute. ExpressJet with their 9 year upgrade? SkyWest with their commute to ORD or DTW and then a transfer back after a year to sit on reserve? Then, 10 years before you can get back to IAH as a CA?
2. Some of our CA’s are crediting over 200 hours per month. Exceeding the pay at other regionals.
3. FO’s immediately get a line and can fly 90+ hours per month if they want to.