Originally Posted by Itsajob

Mesa has never been the best paying gig out there, but deciding to go there doesn’t mean that you are settling or that you are weak with no other options. Pre-covid19 their pay was about the same for flying the 175 as that at XJT for flying the 145, and they had quicker upgrades which meant more money. I remember being in the jumpseat having a 5 year XJT first talking about how a guy that he knew had gone to Mesa and upgraded in 2 years. He made the comment that he may be a captain, but he’s still at Mesa. When I mentioned that his friend was making $25-30/hr more, logging PIC, flying hard, and making himself much more marketable to a legacy, he didn’t have much of a response. Now even with the benefit of hindsight, people working for a company that exclusively operate a fleet that is on the chopping block continue to look down on a group that will most likely come out of this in much better shape. If your goal was to build a quality resume as fast as you can so that you would be competitive elsewhere, Mesa would have gotten you there faster than XJT. If Mesa recalls furloughed pilots and resumes hiring first, furloughed XJT pilots will be lined up around the block trying to get hired.