Originally Posted by
Oberon
I agree with you completely don't come to Compass for flow-though. That said your math is a little fuzzy.
Lets assume for a minute that the new Delta keeps flow-through the exact same for Compass and Mesaba and they continue to hire (you'll have to suspend disbelief
). Compass has 240 pilots on the seniority list and Mesaba has over 1000. There are some restrictions, but the first 20 pilots each month must be Compass pilots. After that Mesaba pilots (I'm not sure what the limitations are there) then off the street pilots are hired. How long would it take for a new hire at Compass to be hired at new DAL verses a new hire at Mesaba?
The limitations at Compass are only 20 pilots per month can be hired, only half the Captains in a rolling 12 month period may be hired, and you must have been employed for 30 months and be a Captain. I'm not familiar with the limits at Mesaba, though only the number of pilots who flow up can flow down.
If your goal is to get to DAL by getting hired at Compass or Mesaba my advice is to set a different goal. If you think NWA will have mass furloughs I suggest going to Mesaba to protect against furlough. If you think NWA and new Delta will keep flow-though and keep hiring I suggest coming to Compass.
I'm at Compass, but I came here for home base and upgrade in that order. Upgrade is now significantly longer than when I was hired. I doubt I would have left Comair if I now was the first time I could be hired. If I were out of work I'd come here in a heart beat.
Why is my number fuzzy? FYI, your calculations are skewed a little because no one at Compass is eligible for flowthru right now whereas at Mesaba 14 has already flowed thru. Plus if the flowthru stays after the merger, 9 pilots per month from Mesaba flows up to NWA. There are no provisions that excludes Mesaba pilots from flowing up until after 20 Compass pilot flows up. At any case I seriously doubt the flowthru will remain intact after the merger, but you never know, anything can happen.
If seniority is an issue, you have to pick an airline that will continue to grow. Mesaba is planning to hire another 350 pilots in 2008. How many is Compass planning to hire in 2008 and beyond? At best Compass will hire another 70 to 80 pilots total. This will fully staff for 36 aircraft. Further options for 18 aircraft has not been announced by NWA and it is doubtful it ever will after the merger. That means no further growth for Compass, whereas if you start out at Mesaba right now, by the end of this year, you will have 350 pilots below you in seniority. That's a better cushion than having 70 pilots below you.