flare next time

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to see what ya'll think about MESA airlines? I'm an Australian looking to come over on the E3 Visa program and I'm having a hard time picking an airline (options include MESA, XJT, GoJet, TSA, Commutair, Air Wisconsin).
Looking through page after page after page on the forums (a dangerous place to be looking for advice ), MESA seems to take a beating a lot of the time, but people never really give a reason as to why, and that's what I'm curious to find out. What specific reason(s) do people have to try and avoid MESA? What reasons would there be to pick MESA?

Compared to Aus, I'm not concerned with aircraft size or base, it's a lot better than the opportunities back home, so if there is a reason to pick another airline over MESA, I'd be curious as to why.

Appreciate your time!

ChickenChicken

Mesa isn't a bad place to start your career but I would recommend using them like they will you and get out as soon as you get what you need from them.

No Land 3

Mesa gave me the opportunity at a time when everyone else was picky and not quite hiring yet, offered a quick upgrade onto either the CRJ or 175, and ended up with 1100 TPIC in a three year window and I was able to get out. In those three years I also had a kid with another on the way and life expenses piled up that I was more or less forced to leave. This was before 300% became more prevalent.
I cannot fault Mesa as they are the ones that really made my career takeoff.

backtoregionals

Out of the list of potential airlines you listed, I’d say Mesa and Xjet are probably your top two. I was at Xjet a few years ago. The training there is probably the best you’ll get at a regional, unless it’s changed. Their contract is leap years ahead of Mesa’s. I hear that upgrade at Xjet is down to a couple years. Mesa has 20 new 175’s coming next year. Great group of pilots. Training is okay. Oh, and Mesa DOES NOT require or offer the dorky looking bus driver hat

AirBear

From my experience with Mesa way back in 2003-2005 and from what I have read on this forum over the past year or two the main thing to be concerned about is contract abuse, and being pushed to fly illegally.

Scheduling had, and I think still has the attitude that if it's "operational necessity" then the contract gets thrown out the window. They play dumb. Saw it a number of times when I was there. A good friend of mine was taking a CRJ200 from CLT-MKE. MKE wx was 300 overcast and forecast to stay that way. His release didn't have an alternate. So he calls dispatch and they frantically tell him they'll have to bump pax to take on alternate fuel. He's like "So"? Had to put his foot down and insist on the alternate. We were all ex-mainline USAirways that did a flow down to Mesa after furlough. The system Chief Pilot in PHX hated us because he couldn't intimate us like he could the younger pilots. Our local PHL CP was actually a pretty good guy thou.

Other regionals could be the same or worse, I don't know. Best to ask around.

NovemberBravo

I have had no real safety issues, I think they play it pretty safe and have even been surprised by MX control in Phoenix being more conservative than expected. I’ve only come close to turning down an airplane once since being here.

terks43

Agreed, never even had a dispatcher lift a finger against me when I ask for extra fuel.
Probably because I have a reason when I do, Deice, possible flow change etc etc.

majorpilot

Sound advice with respect to any employer.

AirBear

That's good, maybe they've changed the culture or maybe the FAA read them the riot act.

Here's some of what happened when I was there 15 years ago:

-Mesa bought some CRJ100's from a bankrupt airline. Same as the 200 just the engines were different. And Oh, by the way, they had IRS whereas Mesa's CRJ200's only had DME-DME for RNAV. Mx fixes up the jets and puts them online in PHL. First day a crew comes out, gets in the cockpit, looks at the IRS's and says WTF? No clue what they were. Major system, used for ADI alignment, etc. Mesa quickly self-discloses to the FAA and faxes out some training material.

-CRJ100 engines burned more fuel than the 200's. Several pilots landed short of destination because they were going to have to use some reserve fuel to make destination. System CP is angry, he says "reserve fuel is there to be used"

-In PHL all the reserve PIC's were from mainline USAirways and were limited by union LOA to flying only in the USAirways system, not UAL or America West. Some rocket scientist in crew planning decides to open a UAL base in PHL. Well guess what? They had no reserve coverage. So they just ordered the USAirways pilots to fly the UAL system jets (under fly now grieve later) then the next bid period they took the base and the jets to IAD.

I'm glad they're not as bad as they used to be.

Being able to drive commute vs. fly commute (Texas based) might make it worthwhile to put up with Mesa. When I left Mesa for NetJets the thing I missed the least was commuting.

NovemberBravo

I wasn’t in the airlines then but I think the Colgan crash helped push a lot of unsafe behavior out. Mesa isn’t that hard pressed to get flights out, if it’s unsafe don’t do it and you’ll probably never hear anything from management.

Now part of what your talking about is disorganization which Mesa still has.