I make about a dollar more each year as a turboprop FO than I would on that payscale. Ouch.

I guarantee they will hire all the pilots they need.

Deleted - screw XJT

I'm curious how TSA plans to fill classes going forward. Yesterday's airplane with zero plan and/hope for the future. Doesn't matter how good the contract is if the airline won't exist.

If I were a newbie (I'm far from it) I'd look at Mesa and Compass pretty closely. Neither have 50-seaters, both have a seniority list that will be either growing or moving very soon, and will for the next several years. Mesa is in negotiations, so I'd expect those rates to improve, along with a few other gains. If the domiciles fit your life, it's a no brainer; especially for those getting hired now. The airline will grow by 40% in the next 3 years.

Mesa has just secured their future and is growing to boot. Given what's happening at Eagle, PSA and every other 50-seat operator out there, that's no small feat.

Good thoughts... What would you say of RAH? I am a newbie, by the way!

I'd be weary of any airline with a considerable number of 50-seat aircraft. It's no secret that they're in their way out. I won't advocate for RAH (I have friends there who wouldn't encourage anyone to come to work there) but they do seem to have a somewhat stable future due to the deliveries they are taking and will continue to take for the next several years. Their contract is sub-par and the list has been rather stagnant since 2008.

Give Compass a call - we're hiring like crazy.

The flaw in your logic is you think anything in the regional business is guaranteed. Nothing in contract flying is guaranteed. Those long term contracts are so full of holes they can become short term very quickly if it suits management. I can remember Randy Radamacher in the ops center where I was working in 2001 at Comair telling everyone about the bright future ahead and all the deliveries of RJs that were coming and that Comair would have something like 450 odd airplanes in 2005. That worked out real well as I remember :rolleyes:

Ha! Shows what you know. TSA doesn't plan...

Lets not forget how volatile mainline owned airframes can be. Didn't Delta give Mesa a few 900's that lasted not even a year before they yanked them and placed them elsewhere? With that said, I wish you guys the best of luck... but the quote of nothing in contract flying is guaranteed should always be respected.

This will be known as a great move for Mesa or the beginning of the countdown on which Major contract will they choose to staff. I have word the quality of apps is already low and training costs are increasing as failures increase and sim space gets pricey. I heard Europe is in the cards for Sim space.