Mesaba...
 

I have just got an interview with Mesaba and was wondering if anyone on here can give me some insight on what they think of the company and QOL. I dont know that much about them so anything will help.

Also, APC has their most junior captain list as Jul 1999, whats the deal with that?

Any info will help... im new on the forum so if i screwed anything up, oh well.

I would only give you this advice before you get beat down on this message board. Everything you read on this board is someones opinion, which means $h!t to you. If you are really want to find out about a company you want to work for, ask some people who work there, except the ones on here. Good luck, and my only good advice is be patient and I would do a little more research before I interviewed at a company!!

Northwest went into bankruptcy, which caused Mesaba to go into bankruptcy as well. The furloughed a large number of pilots, as a result.

I interviewed with them a month ago. The currently operate a fleet of mostly Saab 340's with some CRJ-900's on the way. Pinnacle will be sending over some CRJ-200's in the fall. They intend to do a fair amount of hiring this year to staff up for the fleet expansion. There are a few Mesaba pilots that post on this board regularly, they should be along shortly to help you out. (RJ85FO is one of them.)

speaking of RJ85's, do they still fly them?

All of our RJ85's are gone. Congrats on getting an interview, jlamm. First bit of advice I can give you it to do a little research. This forum has a search function that can be very helpful. Usually your question was asked by someone else and you can then get the answers immediately instead of waiting for them to trickle in.

To answer your question, Mesaba has a solid pilot group who will help make this some what monotonous job fun. However, being part of the NWA family the mgmt at Mesaba will treat you like a 2 cent hooker. Like every other airline, things tend to come in waves. We just are coming out of a very low spot and seem to be on our way back up.

Until recently we have hundreds of pilots on furlough which would explain the junior CA being 1999. That has already been coming down and will continue to improve as long as the growth that is promised to us comes true. In the interview, they'll tell you 12 to 18 month upgrades. Will you see that? Probably not, but there will be steady movement through out the ranks and you will have your choice a base within a few months and be looking at reasonable upgrade times. If you live in one of the bases, now (if ever) appears to be the time to get on board Mesaba. Try that search button if I missed one of you questions.

Cheers

I think the date is about Oct 2000 now. 9/11, loss of the Avros, NWA / Mesaba bankruptcies, etc. resulted in major staffing (pilot) cuts and little advancement for years. All this trauma results in an unusual situation: a group of long tenure high time experienced FOs and Captains. As high seniority pilots move into the CRJs, the new Captains will have lots of SAAB aircraft and route system experience - ideal for a new FO to fly with. I doubt you will ever see "street captains" at Mesaba.

Junior Captain today is May 2000 hire date. Junior Captain next fall will have summer 2007 hire date. We are still loosing about 8-10 pilots/month on average. I expect that might decrease some as the new airplanes arrive and people once again get comfortable with the status quo around here.

We are in growth mode right now. That could change at the snap of your fingers. NWA controls us 100% now, as compared to 95% before the acquisition! Overall, Mesaba is a 60+ year history regional carrier with a well respected, senior pilot group. We have a good contract, but took a hit to pay recently. That will improve over time. A good place to come and cut your 121 teeth.