We've got a handful of planes from other carriers, and I'm confident that they are maintained now, but with few exceptions, there's always something.

Of course, none of the Comair birds have ACARS, and the ASA birds that we got were probably the ones that ASA didn't want. We have a few "blue ridge" planes on Midwest service, and the cockpits just looked sad. Rode hard and put away wet.



As you know, SkyWest has TONS of Mesa pilots. Honestly, they're way better than any off the street hire, since they KNOW how bad it can be. I bump into Mesa guys from my new hire class regularly, and I don't think you could PAY them to come back to Mesa.



JO wouldn't survive. He get a golden parachute, and shown the door (assuming the whole operation isn't being bought through BK liquidation).

 

i'm sure i speak for him and everyone else here when i say that getting the people from mesa isn't what he meant when he said it would be bad, basically. we all know mesa pilots, and just feel bad for the situation they are in. the people and the planes would be great assets to pick up, but the overall company (leadership, reputation, etc.) is a nightmare. no one here is saying anything bad about mesa pilots, believe me.

 

I never meant to insult any MAG pilot, I know a few and they are stand-up guys. I've just heard horrible stories (and face it, I do a lot of flying out of the F-concourse at ORD, and have seen the MAG planes), about how the planes are. That's what I was referring to. A company that skimps on maintenance and the almighty dollar, what hidden problems do these planes have? When I was MKE based, we had a few MEL's on those non-OO planes.

 

Yes.

Airways has been talking to SKW for years about the PHX/LAS flying...my gut feeling (no hard info) is that it is inevitable...not a matter of if, just when. My understanding is that the mesa contract is in it's twilight, with drawdown options available to Doug Parker starting last year.

I could not imagine SKW actually buying mesa intact...there are too many problems at mesa that SKW would not want to inherit:

- Go!
- Go! Lawsuits and financial damages.
- China Operation
- ALPA
- The corporate cultures are diametrically opposed, and the level of gross incompetence at mesa would lead me to think that the only solution would to burn it down and start all over.

The only POSSIBLE incentive that SKW would have to buy all or part of mesa would the pilot shortage. There might be no other way to staff up a large new operation.

One concept that comes to mind is to buy the needed airplanes from mesa at a premium (JO will do anything for money), and make a deal to allow any MAG pilot to VOLUNTARILY move over to SKW with new-hire SKW seniority, SKW pay based on their MAG longevity, and domicile fences to protect their relative seniority (ie stay in PHX, stay a captain). They would obviously leave ALPA behind. I think most would jump at that opportunity, just like the several hundred Pan-Am pilots who were allowed to lateral to UAL when UAL acquired pan-am's pacific routes.

 

This would depend on MAGALPA's fragmentation clause. I don't know what it is but it may prevent that sort of scenario, in which you get stapled to the bottom of the seniority list and leave ALPA behind.

 

Why would SKW want to intergrate the MAG seniority list with their own pilot group? When they bought ASA, didn't SKW keep them seperate because of the fact ASA was represented by ALPA. Do you not think that SKW would do the same with Mesa?

 

No. SKW bought ASA intact from DAL because there was a benefit to doing so...guaranteed DAL flying. SKW was willing to take on ALPA and the screwed up ASA management as part of that deal.

With mesa, they have almost no incentive to take responsibility for an INTACT mesa management and ALPA...which is far more screwed up than ASA was. US Air doesn't own mesa and doesn't care what happens to them (actually that's not true, DP would like to see mesa burn in hell ). The ONLY thing that SKW MIGHT want from mesa is the pilots, and maybe some airplanes...which they can probably make a deal for without buying the whole package. JO will cheerfully dismantle his company for a quick buck.

 

I'm familiar with the clause, it is not relevant unless SKW actually BUYS mesa (which they won't).

Here's how it would work:

1) US Air awards the PHX/LAS flying to SKW, coincident with the expiration of the mesa contract in 2012. The award would probably be in 2010, or even 2009 to allow transition planning.

2) SKW buys airplanes from mesa (or maybe from somewhere else). Buying from mesa at a higher-than-market value would effectively bribe JO to go along with the scheme.

3) SKW offers current MAG CRJ pilots the opportunity to staff the new flying with some incentive, fences and/or longevity protection. They would be SKW new hires with seniority to match to be fair to the SKW pilots. MAG pilots would be ecstatic to escape MAG and MAG/ALPA in exchange for the SKW package...especially if they don't have to interview and get to keep some longevity.


This scheme is not legally a successorship, and would only be necessary if the pilot market remains tight (which it probably will).

 

In this scenario, would those who brought a capt. seat to the deal keep it?

I see some genius in your posts on this topic, but part of my hopes you wrong, for my career's sake. Going back to new hire senority would be a kick in the nuts, given the decision I just made to not do it (become a new hire) voluntarily.

 

Hold your horses, don't get too excited! I'm just speculating based on what I know about SKW and mesa (worked at both).

You can probably assume that US Air will get rid of mesa in 2-3 years, as DP has supposedly said so in public.

In order to staff a large new operation, SKW would really have to scramble due to the entry-level pilot shortage...one way to do this would be incentivize experienced mesa pilots by allowing them to retain their current seat, domicile, and pay (ex PHX CRJ CA). If they transfered out of PHX, into the existing SKW system, then they would be new-hire FO's.

Again, just speculation, not even a rumor. It's also posible that the mesa-SKW transition could be done over a long enough period (2+ years) to allow normal staffing by SKW.