Ask him why ?

I am sure he will not tell you about his power back in Lousiana trying to get the aircraft out of the mud and trying to cover up and go again.
FAA Did neutor his chances but hey Mesa made him a aCP go figure

 

Are you a Mesa pilot yourself? Are you planning a lateral move and if so, where?
A friend of mine told me his latest paycheck was so bad he couldn't believe it.

 

Guys, I think what your missing is, their thought process being reward and pay the GUYS CURRENTLY MOVING THE METAL. Keep them happy, happy crews mean ontime flights.

Think about it, so you give a newhire a bonus, what does that do? It simply ****es of the FO that was hired 3 months before this guy who didn't get a bonus. Who's out flying the line, the ****ed off guy. We all know ****ed off crews don't help D-0 departures...

Why put money into the hands of a newhire FO, someone who has yet to do anything for the company. Who knows if that guy will even pass training?

Put money into the hands of current line pilots, and use them as "company muscle" to hire and retain.

If I get someone hired (hypothetically speaking of course, I'm not trying to get anyone to come here, the fast upgrade ship has sailed.) It is in my best interest to keep that person here for the terms of payment. (2 years or whatever the terms are) If that person in going to make a career move decision, it's probably in my best interest to get him to stay so I get my money. Who do most people turn to for career advice? Their friends, the same person who has an investment in them staying.

It's an interesting twist on recruiting, that's for sure.

 

You're not even talking about the same guy

 

I was thinking it was them being clever, but I think we gave them too much credit. If they payed retention bonuses, that's just more money out the door. The pilot referral thing allows them to spend less money, in a more controlled manner. When things start to get worse, they'll open the wallet a bit more and perhaps see retention bonuses. We all know what the real solution is, it's just going to take a long time for them to accept it. Hopefully it won't be too late.

 

Two of my flight school buddies are. I guess I should say, they were. One already put in his notice and the other is about to. They looked at Endeavor, Republic, Piedmont, Skywest and Compass. One decided on Skywest and one is going to Compass.

They said the same thing. Their paychecks were unbelievable. And the insurance was pathetic. They knew it was going to be bad, but not that bad. They were on reserve in IAD. They said people live in the crew room because there is no other option. Pilots and flight attendants go for days without a shower. It's disgusting. They take sponge baths in the airport bathroom because they can't afford a hotel room. And they certainly can't afford an apartment.

One applied for subsidized housing, and get this - didn't make the MINIMUM required to qualify for Assisted Affordable Housing. I couldn't believe it. If I can get the form they sent him showing the MINIMUM salary required to qualify, I will post it here. I know that the guaranteed hours multiplied by the pay rate didn't make the minimum qualification. If he flew enough to show enough per diem, it might have gotten him over the hump. But as a reserve, he wasn't flying enough. It's pretty bad when your salary as a commercial jet pilot doesn't pay enough to get subsidized housing for an efficiency apartment.

Regardless, both are leaving. Nobody should have to live that way. Especially after investing over $100k and several years in getting educated and qualified for a professional job.

There are better options out there. Don't sell yourself short.

 

Yes, this is exactly right. I know a guy "just rumor" that worked for Great Lakes, and he said that the owner, about 10 years ago, thought that flying was a privilege, and that he should not pay for anything, and paid bottom dollar he could legally for his crews. That went on for years, and finally caught up with the company. Now, Great Lakes can't staff routes, use 135 rules, and looking to go out of business. That reputation stuck to them. Are you guys LISTENING. You my have just a few months to turn this, before Mesa turns into the next Great Lakes.

 

You guys are doing most of your lift for United for dirt cheap rates, and management is unwilling to compensate you further. Meanwhile, United just voted in a nearly 20% pay increase for their pilots to do the same job. Enough to make you sick. F'd up industry.

 

You new captains should be putting 10 percent into your 401k to get the extra 3 percent match. Not much but you need to do it. Don't go blow it all now... Especially that dude a few pages back making 8400 on year 4 pay! He must have had 125+ hours of credit to do that. I'm year 14 and can't make that without doing 95+ hours of credit.

 

Thanks for all that! Definitely there are options better than YV.
Do you know if your friends who've left were sued for the training contract?
I'm definitely avoiding the IAD crew room- stinky people are not fun ha ha