Be careful what you wish for...

Is 9e somehow suddenly invincible to the NW whipsaw? This is the attitude I've picked up from some Pinnacle pilots who haven't been around long enough to experience the back side of NW's hand. History has shown a very cyclical pattern between XJ and 9e buildup/beatdowns and guess who's (historically) next?

 

i don't think any one thinks that. we all know who is next, i have been giving that history lesson on here for some time now. we are already getting the back hand and nwa is doing the same thing they have been doing for decades. They bought mesaba, gave them the 900's and will build them up and sell them... then in about 5 years mesaba will start to take the beating as contract time comes around, same ole, same ole. the thing is we do have a 10 year contract with nwa, and the most they can knock our fleet down to is 117 rj's. and even if they did that we would be still be understaffed. i mean the projected reserves in mem are 16 cap, and 9 fo's... if even a few people call in sick this month we are hosed. so as far as furloughes we are probably a long way away from that seeing we cant staff the flying we have, and are getting more planes from delta.... not saying we are impervious, and that anything can happen, but it doesn't look like that will be a problem for a bit.

 

North West mgmt ALWAYS honor their contracts. They are men of their word...

 

A 10 year contract means nothing at all. NWA will do whatever they want, regardless.

 

no they are not.... they are not to be trusted.. and if they were still in bankruptcy i would be a little more worried. but it would be really hard for them to renig on the contract while not filed for bankruptcy and reorginization.

they might try but it will be a financial nightmare if they aren't in bankruptcy. all the cheap shots they have pulled was under bankruptcy protection, and yes when you have that you can do anything.. like force people to work and not letting them strike, knocking wages, killing benefits, cutting back on retirement... you guys are trying to convince the wrong guy about how bad nwa is.. i know, when they told their employees to dumpster dive to save money, that showed really what kind of people they are. but a contract is a contract.. the only way they can get out of it (with out losing big financially) is filing for bankruptcy again, or getting pinnacle to agree to different terms.. and if push came to shove i would not doubt the latter.

 

hey congratulations on getting both jobs. i've talked to many people that work at both pinnacle and mesaba and heard many things about both companies, but overall i would tend to lean a little towards mesaba as the place to go. things are really starting to look up at mesaba since they're getting the new crjs as well as pinnacle with the new delta flying. i think that might anger nw mainline a little bit though in the long run since they will now be flying for a different company, but who knows. either the saab or crj would be good for you to start in, but again i would tend to lean towards getting the saab because you will eventually be upgrading into it. i say this too because you asked the question about upgrades being closer together with the two planes, i say no only because most of the crj captains are of top seniority and don't look to be going anywhere (major or such) anytime soon, and these guys will probably end up retiring from mesaba. the saab is also a fairly complicated aircraft to learn, and upgrading into the saab coming from the crj will more than likely be difficult for you. but anyway, best of luck and hope this helps

 

Mesaba now had LESS than a one year upgrade.

The most junior Saab Captain was hired in April 2007.

So, Mesaba will most likely treat you better as an employee, and can now also offer a one year upgrade.

 

I'd go to mesaba just because we have the most technologically advanced employee website in the business. YOu have to see this thing to believe it.

 

I HAVE!!! Look at express 1/2 - aka - PNC>>>> NO one, no matter what airline is immune from furlough...

 

Thanks for the input. I'm getting the feeling that Mesaba is indeed the place to be (at least between the two).