Upgrade At Mesaba
 

Can anyone tell me the rational of upgrading to SAAB then CRJ, but not CRJ to CRJ?

Example: A SAAB F/O could upgrade to SAAB captain, then to CRJ captain. But, the same is not true for CRJ F/O (CRJ F/O can move to be SAAB captain then CRJ captain) is this really making sense to anybody?

Why could they just allow F/O to upgrade from their respective equipments? If you've been flying as an F/O on RJ, it makes sense to move to the left seat on the same equipement!

And really, how long does it take to upgrade from either equipment?

Upgrades are based on seniority. That is how this business works. The Saab is junior equipment, so you have the opportunity to upgrade onto it first. Nobody will force you, so you can hold out as CRJ FO until your seniority will hold CRJ Captain and upgrade at that time.

RJ85FO, if one wanted to do that, any guess on how long? I personally would probably take the SAAB as its not my goal to be a lifer at a regional airline. But I do agree the transition from F/O to capt would probably be easier in the same equipment.

For a junior guy...long. Remember the jets are senior equipment, so FO's more senior to yourself will be the likely ones holding out for the Captain's seat, especially since we are still in the 24 month seat lock after upgrade situation.

There seems to be a sense of comfort returning to Mesaba which will slow the attrition of the top 300 pilots since they will be flying back at close to their comfortable pay range. If you are a CRJ FO just coming on the property, holding out for CRJ Captain, you will be waiting for years not months. I strongly recommend taking the first available upgrade. Don't get caught with your pants down and no PIC time if things go crazy with a merger at NWA, some integration between Compass and Mesaba etc.

RJ85FO,

You are very enlightening. Tell me, did you just said that there may be a merger between Compass and Mesaba? How is that going to work for all the new guys?

WHO is pushing for things like merger at NWA? Let me know! I have found your comments very interesting.

Can you also tell me about SAAB, in terms of Systems (in general). I heard it is a nice plane, but very loud and the Systems are quite complicated is that true?

There are no mergers, only speculation. Things to keep in mind as we move ahead. You will hear all sorts of rumors about Compass and the future of NWA.

The Saab is a very simple airplane in my opinion. Electrical system is a little cumbersome mainly because the overhead panel does not lay it out like it is designed. There are some details in powerplant and propeller that can bog you down but overall, it is a simple turboprop. A lot of people tend to make it more complicated than it really is.

Guesses on how long a junior FO would take to make RJ CA are virtually impossible at this point. So many factors are involved, its really not even worth trying. Back in the day of the AVRO, there were some RJ FO's that bypassed the SAAB all together and went straight to AVRO CA. I believe they had to wait about 7 years to do this.

That was then, this is now... RJ85FO gave you some golden advice. The future of XJ is uncertain at best. Get some CA time under you belt when you can. The Saab is a fine aircraft. Everyone at XJ has flown it for some period of time... we generally don't have a lot of tolerance here for PreMadonnas.

PReMadonnas,

What the heck is that, did I miss anything here with the lingo thing? I would like to more about the PreMadonnas thing, oops.

Seeing as junior captains on the Saab right now have spring 2000 hire dates, it's hard to try to figure out how the fleet expansion will affect upgrades and growth. Even with new aircraft arriving on the property, it will still take a little while for all of the other FOs (that are senior to new hires) to claim their 4th stripe...

Attrition is starting to slow to a crawling pace now. There are about 80 FO's that have bypassed upgrade on the last award. From that point on there about 100 FO's below the most junior captain till you reach the newhires. So that's about 180 people that will have at least a two year upgrade mark, since the most junior of that bunch is a 9/05 hire.