No Land 3

Things change so fast, that it's not even worth thinking about until you are offered a class date at multiple regionals.

No Land 3

You know what? Lets just drop the talk on this thread about any new TA's, cancelled flights, etc, and lets use this thread to help our former colleagues become LAMA's. If your at Mesa, it's pretty easy to figure out who I am. PM me, and I'll offer my advice to those that are interested in Kalitta. Other Lama's here can do the same for Allegiant, Spirit, Frontier, Atlas, XOjet, Delta, etc. Theres multiple fights going on here, the only one you guys should be concentrating on is moving up to the next level. You need to develop a sense of what is real, and what is a waste of time. Don't get wrapped into mind games, carrots on sticks, etc. PM me about Kalitta, or about career advice, or what ever you feel is holding you back. Maybe I can point you in the right direction.

LostMedic

You could als go drive for Lyft, even after taxes and expenses make more. Oh and they have an option for health care that is better and cheaper than Mesa. How the hell is that.

stbloc

SkyWest would be tough and don't want to be fo for 10 years at xjet. Plus holding IAH could be a while. If it doesn't work our then it is what it is. I have a good job and wife makes 6 figures. I will not commute. But if the stars align then I may make the leap of faith.

No Lies

The only real choice in IAH right now is to commute. Expressjet will take a while to get to IAH and over 10 year upgrade (April 2007 most jr CA). Expressjet is a ERJ only company. ASA can not send the CRJ's into IAH and have the ERJ pilots fly them. Skywest is shrinking and being told the base will close, but that was said about 5 years ago also. And then you have Mesa. If you have to be based in IAH, then the answer would be Mesa or a fast food place that pays more.

Santos Dumont

I understand your situation. I also live in Houston and came to Mesa solely for the IAH base. I know a few individuals who came to Mesa from ExpressJet to be able to stay in IAH after being displaced to another ExpressJet base.

That's the problem with ExpressJet, the company is very senior, and Houston is one of the senior bases within the company. That means that you will have to go trough a lot of hell (i.e. commuting to reserve) before you can hold IAH. Having said that, once you pay your dues and finally get to hold IAH at XJT, you will be happier than you would at Mesa.

Mesa does have a few things than look good on the outside. For example, IAH is the only E-175 base (as of right now) so you don't even have to worry about being displaced. Also, reserve is still very short here, though you will not get the quick upgrade. Finally, the E-175 has better routes than the E-145. And believe me, those are indeed nice things, but the company has so many problems in other areas that it is not worth it anymore.

To summarize it, the company is not labor-friendly at all. It is a deep-rooted culture that will take years to change if the current management team left today. Our contract speaks for it self. Our pay scale is considerably lower than that of other regionals, on top of that, the company passes the costs of basic things such as KCM and EFBs down to us the pilots. I'm pretty sure we are the only regional where pilots pay for their own KCM. It's does not cost much, but it tells you a lot about the management culture. Hotels are another hot topic... The management team has very low ethical values, they are not nice people to work for. Also, the early signs of a staffing crisis are showing, and seem to be creating a snowball effect. People leave, staffing gets tight, people get junior assigned (forced to work on days off) to cover for the shortage, those who are forced to work on days off get frustrated and start working harder to leave the company, staffing gets even tighter. Not a good trend.

Normally I would have told you to come to Mesa if IAH is important for you, but I can't say that anymore. If you really want to fly airplanes out of the Houston area, and don't want to commute, even temporarily, you should consider a good corporate gig out of HOU.

It's unfortunate the way things have turned out in the industry. Historically ExpressJet should have been the only logical choice for Houston pilot's. Globally, airlines have historical ties with geographical regions, not the case in the U.S. I love flying, and I can't see my self doing anything else, but I have to say that this industry is not fair to us.

InvalidDB

There's only one company on your list I'd want to work for, in addition to a couple others not listed. That company, and the others, doesn't hire quite as readily, which makes becoming a LAMA a little more difficult.

InvalidDB

I've met some very smart FOs who came to Mesa because they wanted to stay in Houston (and fly a lot). It isn't the worst choice. Then again, things are a little different from even six months ago.

Cloud 9

At the end of the day I won't recommend coming or not coming to Mesa but everyone have to create their own path and live by their own mistakes. I live in Houston but I won't go to express jet, I came to mesa because all I needed is some 121 time so I can move on. Gather the info you received here carefully and create a game plan and seek your path to success. Its a regional airline and its not your final destination, if living in base is best for you like it was for me then your choices is limited. My family and I have budget ourselves for the next 5 years so I can be here and also be home with my kids, don't let anyone decide for you except your family.

airflight999

This kind of attitude (mainline or bust!) is why we have so many 16 or 20 year captains at Mesa. Ironically, it's these same captains who don't go to job fairs or network or do anything outside of updating their resumes on airlineapps, and wonder why mainline isn't barging down their door.

An applicant from an LCC or ACMI with heavy international time looks infinitely better than a stale regional driver who has been as the same job for the better part of two decades.