Originally Posted by
iPilot
2/3 of the pilot group got in knowing exactly what a scummy operation it was and undercut the rest of us for a quick upgrade. The other 1/3, the old timers from pre JO days, had plenty of opportunity to get out into another decent job at a major, charter, or just about anything else and probably still have it better off than they have it now. Sure there may be a handfull that truly will get screwed in this deal but the vast majority really have no reason for us to pity them.
This flawed and oversimplified logic is used by some on this forum to justify rooting for the loss of 1500 pilot jobs. The nerve of those MAG prostitutes trying to move their careers along by
earning an ATP and gaining PIC experience. Why can't everyone take advantage of American Eagle's decade-long, right seat seasoning process?
The
Union pilots of Mesa Air Group fought a successful battle to convert a non-union alter ego into a union operation. Doing so required a long term strategic vision and the willingness to eat some crappy contract provisions. This move benefited the union pilots as a whole. However in return, the uninformed refer to this pilot group as "bottom-feeders".
In a time of economic downturn, the Mesa MEC successfully won an improved contract, which will be up for negotiation in two years.
Many of us, within and without Mesa, feel deep sympathy for the Aloha folks who have lost their jobs. Many of us feel the same sympathy for the Midwest Airlines pilots on furlough while their routes are flown by E170's crewed by much lower paid pilots. I have not seen the same level of angst and anger directed at RAH pilots as has been directed at MAG pilots.
There are market forces at work much larger than one pilot group. Mesaba flying in SLC? Are they taking Skywest flying? Flying shifts all the time, yet when Mesa shows up somewhere, the shrieking starts.