Thanks to all the Mesaba guys for the great info I have a few more questions for you. Do you have ready reserve, or hot reserve? What is your normal reserve call out time? Do you have a long call reserve? Is there a seat lock time period after training? and is the a training contract there?

 

There is a provision for ready reserve, but it is not used for pilots currently. Normal reserve call out is 1.5 hours to report. Then, in domicile you have another hour to get yourself flight ready and be on the flight deck 20 minutes prior to departure...effectively, you have 2:10 to get to the airplane from the time you are called.

Seat lock is 24 months. If you come in as a Saab captain, you will remain there for 24 months. Yes there is a contract. I don't know what the terms will be for a street captain though.

 

What are the training contract terms for an FO?

 

12 month contract for $12,000 on a sliding scale.

 

So Mesaba makes you sign a training contract? What's the term for CA's?

BTW I don't quite understand this "seat lock" deal, can someone explain what that is? Does it mean that you have to be a Saab Captain for 24 months?

 

If you bid to be a Saab captain and are awarded it then even if you could hold CRJ captain (200 or 900) you are not eligible for the position for 24months. You are "seat locked" into your CA position for 2 years.

IE - You are awarded Saab CA in Nov 07, you would then be eligible for CA on another aircraft in Nov 09, assuming your seniority could hold it. This keeps down training costs as pilots are unable to switch aircraft as often as they might be.

The talk about the "seat lock" being released or shortened is because it is possible when Mesaba aquires as many aircraft as they plan to that they will not have enough Saab captains who have been captains for more than 2 years eligible to bid to the CRJ. They would then have to shorten the seat lock, eliminate it, hire street captains for the jet, or upgrade lower seniority FOs into these positions.

Now a question for those in the know, if a seat locked captain were bypassed for a jet postion are they owed this "bypass pay" that people have spoken of before that kicks in 8 weeks after the bypass??? I'm not familiar with that specification.

 

The above statement is either a really new development or just plain wrong...

 

At Compass - yes (Many have avoided signing.)

At Mesaba - ???? must be something new.

Any newhires that signed one ??????

 

Very new, havent signed one. I asked around to a few of the guys in my class and they havent signed one either.

If I read the pilot contract right, Mesaba is authorized to contract us up to $15k pro rated, but as far as I am aware there is no contract.

 

No one in my class as far as Im aware had to sign one so this must be either new or whoever wrote this requirement is plain wrong.