Mesa news?
 

My brother works on Wall Street, and he's been telling me all week that something is up with Mesa. He's hearing some grumblings about a bankruptcy filing for the last week or so, (before the latest Delta cancellation).

He'll be the first to tell you that just because he hears some grumblings that it doesn't mean they are filing, but on the flip side of that, most times a company does file, they sense it up there before it happens.

I made a small amount selling some Mesa stock two weeks ago when it shot up (due to some investment group buying a sizable chunk of stock), but now I've went ahead and sold off what I have left.

Good luck to all the Mesa peeps, hope nothing comes of it!

Cessna 157, please check this post for proper grammar usage.

Well, I HAD an interview set up for next week...but then I got this little email saying.....


Dear Pilot Applicant,

Due to our current circumstances we have to postpone your scheduled interview. You will not lose interview priority and will be rescheduled at a later date. At this time we are not sure when interviews will resume, but will be in contact via email. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

--guess its for the best....

Wow....

I got nothin.....

I had a feeling that they were going to stop their hiring as a result of this recent Delta contract cancelled. They would be dumb not to. On another thread someone said they didn't do the full interview at the group interview in Chicago but will fly everyone to PHX instead. I think they are just stringing along those applicants until they find out what is going to happen with this lawsuit or potential bankruptcy. I would assume they still have a pool and classes scheduled for the next few months and that should give them enough to fill any current vacancies.

Honestly, I don't want any Mesa pilots furloughed. I would prefer to never work at Mesa or a company with bad work rules but I don't wish bad on anyone that does. The current economy has humbled a lot of pilots. Watching Express Jet downsize is a prime example.

I have (had) an interview sept 10th. I just heard from some friends that theirs were cancelled as well. they had the aug 13th and 27th interviews. Kind of a bummer but anticipated.

Trust me, they did you a favor.

Thank yourselves for being rescued from this company! DO NOT APPLY TO OR FLY FOR MESA OR IT'S SUBSIDIARIES!

You just don't understand how bad it hurts the entire industry. The practice of undercutting EVERY other airline in the industry is the reason so many can not get ahead and hire you in the first place. Pay rates are crippled, contracts are held back, and morale is low chiefly because of Mesa's predatory business practices that put many of my friends in the streets in Hawaii.. and several more soon to be on the streets in the Mainland.

Why do you apply to a company when you know it is the WORST one in the business? Why don't you take experienced pilots advice?

There is no fixing Mesa.... but if you go there, don't expect a warm reception at your next airline interview. Any pilot who went there in the last 5 years knows exactly what they are responsible for in the industry.

It is just a bit odd that MESA was one of the highest gainers (of the airline stocks) on wall st today...up almost 15.0%....hmmm

Very well said..

You must be joking; when you're a penny stock it doesn't take much to gain 15% or $.06 at Mesa's price.

"but if you go there, don't expect a warm reception at your next airline interview."

I'm no fan of JO, but I have buddies from Mesa at America West and Delta. Even helped another one get hired at UPS. I don't believe that Mesa pilots are looked down upon at interviews.

CFDoubleeye said "DO NOT APPLY TO OR FLY FOR MESA OR IT'S SUBSIDIARIES!"

"The practice of undercutting EVERY other airline in the industry is the reason so many can not get ahead and hire you in the first place. Pay rates are crippled..."

On the latest APC pay comparison, at year 7, 6 airlines pay more than Mesa, 4 pay the same as Mesa, and 4 pay less than Mesa. How is this undercutting an entire industry?

"...contracts are held back..."

Mesa has been in negotiation for about two years. Is this unusually long for the industry?

"...Mesa's predatory business practices that put many of my friends in the streets in Hawaii.. and several more soon to be on the streets in the Mainland."

HAL and Aloha have been in and out of bankruptcy several times over the years. I do not wish to see anyone furloughed, but I do not see how 5 RJ's could have possibly crippled an otherwise healthy airline. Is SWA guilty of predatory business practices against FAL in DEN? FAL is hurting and has to reduce flying by 17%. The next day SWA announces a 20% increase at DEN. I have spoken to some who have the theory that SWA moved into DEN strongly 3-4 years ago because they smelled FAL blood in the water. What makes Mesa so vicious and SWA so lovable?

Many use the term "bottom feeder" when referring to Mesa. Why is the term not applied to Virgin America with its pay rates? Why was it not applied to Skybus? How about Lynxx Aviation flying 74 seat aircraft at about the same rate of pay as Mesa's 37 seat DHC8-200's? At one time SWA was probably a "bottom feeder".

"Why do you apply to a company when you know it is the WORST one in the business? Why don't you take experienced pilots advice?"

Know who is handing out the advice. Someone who has never worked at Mesa? Someone who left Mesa in a lateral move to another regional and will never admit it was a mistake? Someone who flew at Mesa and is willing to give honest advice untainted with emotion? Internet forums are like a box of chocolates.

WORST? My theory...okay- guess, is that nearly all regionals are tough entry-level jobs that improve slowly as you gain seniority. The first time I flew in a real DHC8 cockpit, I was jumpseating to my IOE base. The FO was busy texting a buddy before push-back. "I know this dude who left here to go to SKW. He was hired in the same class as me", he said. "I am telling him about how I have been getting jet CA hold-back pay for the last three months".

Moments later his phone buzzed in reply. He read the message and chuckled. "He said, [expletive deleted] you'".

"There is no fixing Mesa.... but if you go there, don't expect a warm reception at your next airline interview."

Our MEC is working hard. We will see what the new TA contains. Plenty of Mesa pilots have gone on to the majors. Sadly, some of them are now coming back due to furloughs.

You are exactly right there.

One of my instructors interviewed there last week. His interview went well, but he got an email saying that they weren't hiring and to reapply in the future. He also said that there were at least 11/20 guys there with over 3500 hours and Part 121 experience.

Michael

JESUS.....it doesnt matter what APC says your hourly rate is or WHAT IS IS................. its your damn work rules...when they are that bad it doesnt matter what u make PER HOUR....... u could make $100 an hour but when u get paid for a historical block with no cancellation pay etc etce tece etc etc etc etc........................ dont u understand.... well i guess not, it says new hire....

Anybody got bets on when this thread gets locked?

LMAO......I'm betting pretty soon.

Don't worry about your next interview, wherever you end up going.

Funny....I did three years at Mesa & then skipped right over to Southwest. I interviewed with 11 other people....all regional guys. Two others were Mesa, one Skywest, 2 Comair, 1 ExpressJet, 1 Eagle, 1 Air Whiskey, 1 ASA & 1 Mesaba. Myself and one other Mesa guy were hired along with the pilot from Skywest.

My new-hire class at Southwest had 3 other ex-Mesa guys and two Skywest guys in addition to the military guys. Every time I report for duty in my pilot base, I run into a group of ex-Mesa guys. The place is crawling with them! The Captain that I am currently flying with is an ex Florida Gulf (Mesa) Beech 1900 driver. Don't seem to ever fly with any guys who used to work for the "premier" regionals....LUV just doesn't seem to hire many of them. The People Department seems to be pretty good at "weeding out" the primadonas (sp.). Southwest hires for "attitude"....period.

The statement that "don't expect a warm welcome at your next airline interview" sounds like it came from someone who doesn't really know what they are talking about or is bitter because they flamed out at an interview with the majors.

One possible explanation of why Mesa, Great Lakes, etc. pilots get hired in higher percentages is probably because they have had a tough time getting their time with the company they work for and are extremely motivated to move on. Most had a fair amount of time hand flying Beech 1900s or Dash 8's before they moved on to the jet, rather than just starting out pushing buttons on the jet right away. Most don't bat an eye at spending 8 grand getting their type ratings and doing whatever it takes to make it to the majors. I know that the guys who interviewed me knew how difficult it was to come from Mesa and were very encouraging and helpful & wanted to help me out. The welcome that I received was extremely warm and friendly & I was in class a few months later.

Make the best decision based upon the information that you have. Best of luck wherever you end up.

My friend's cousin Joe has an uncle who knows a janitor that works on Wall Street, they heard the same thing.

With all due respect your screen name doesn't help your argument. As far as regional pilots I hear SW hires mostly skywest.

Yeah, why believe mesasurvivor, he only has first hand knowledge, you on the other hand have heard who SWA hires. Get a clue! I know current and former SWA pilots and they do not want whiners and know it alls in the fold. It seems most people who waste hours a day on this site fall into this category.

You've been horribly misinformed.

Do they hire SKW guys? Yes.

I have buddies from Mesa, Lakes, TSA and XJT there to name a few.

Maybe a SWa friend of mine doesn't know what he's talking about.:rolleyes: Chill out.

Didn't JO tell the judge before that if Delta cancelled their 50 seat flying that they would be forced to file?

If you think a any legacy favors one regional over another then I've got some swampland for sale.

Yes he did

Segment pay, or historical block pay sucks and should go away. Hopefully the new contract will accomplish this. A pilot's hosing by segment pay can vary a lot depending upon the domicile. Some airports are much more delay prone than others. In DEN we were an hour late departing due to congestion at the de-ice pads. In PHX I have not yet seen a huge difference between my actual and the historic block times.

At other airlines, if a flight is delayed due to maintenance, does pay start at scheduled out time or actual out time? A buddy of mine works at a block-or-better airline. While in ground school and sim training he was not paid. He received $200 per week per diem. How long will it take for his block or better pay to make up for the fact that I was paid a 70 hour a month guarantee from day one?

As bad as segment pay is, the actual differences in earnings depend upon a lot of work rules. Mesa is not necessarily worst in each rule.

I think it's so hilarious how all of us RJ pilots for some reason think that everyone knows everything about our companies and their "prestige" among regionals.

From everyone I know at majors no one seems to care (or in some cases even know) about one regional vs. the next. It would be like going to your 1st regional interview and not getthing the job b/c you instructed at a school with less pay and worse schedules than another flight school. How many regionals give a crap what flight school you instructed at? None that I know of. Similar thing with majors--XXX hrs PIC in a CRJ is XXX hrs PIC in a CRJ...everything else is networking and attitude.

Factor in the fact that most former military pilots (who might be your interviewer) don't know or care what regional is what, unless you are the company they commute on...I can't count how many times I've jumpseated FedEx out of Memphis and even though Pinnacle has a base there the guys (who don't commute to MEM) ask me who Pinnacle is and what we fly...of course they understand "Flagship=NWA Airlink RJ"...but do they say "oh, you guys don't have an industry leading contract, we'll never hire you." No...because they don't give a crap, and neither will I if I'm ever fortunate enough to get on at a major.

I understand the sentiment that we should all hold out for the "best" regional for our situation, and not "lower the bar," but there is a certain point where you have to remember--a regional is a friggin regional, whether it's Skywest or Mesa. It's typically the lifers at the "better" regionals who perpetuate the myth that somehow they are better or more respected than other RJ drivers, when in fact most people outside of our little realm don't know or care...

Besides, yesterdays "bottom feeder" sometimes becomes tomorrow's "industry leader"...as the topic of our thread, SWA, has proven

I'm with you, no one cares. It's all about attitude and you might have a good one if you're a happy pilot.

good point. But I'll say this, I'll bet you one Mesa captain's paycheck that Mesa is out of business by the 3rd quarter '09. I don't want it to happen, I don't want people to lose jobs, but it is looming on the horizon.

Maybe not out of business completely but maybe filing chapter 11 and reorganizing. I would assume they will have to get rid of Go out in Hawaii since it has never turned a profit.

Quite the opposite; the reason that I'm at ZK is because of quick time buliding and upgrade. Yeah life is a bare while you are here but the quicker you upgrade the quicker you get out (that is until the recent downturn in the industry), thats the plan.

The company knows this and thats why they pay so little and the contracts suck; not to mention pilot unity. Most pilots aren't here long enough to do any real justice in improving contract. Spent 2 months on reserve and now hold a good day line with weekends off. Looking at upgrade in 2-3 months and I've only been here for 9 months.

They're a dirt cheap operator and there is still room for CRJ7/9s, mesa will still be around even after an atomic war.

We did start the furlough process today. All new hires in class were sent home with letters in hand. Kind of a sobering moment

The end is near for Mesa.... I see this as a positive for the entire industry.

Mesa's never furloughed.

Really? I thought Mesa furloughed after 9/11? I am not sure if they will even count this a furlough if it is just new hires in ground school. It sucks for the pilots in training that have quit their last job but they aren't really considered employees until they passed their checkride.

No they've never furloughed. In fact Mesa grew because of the problems at the Majors after 911.

Would sending all their new hires in ground school home be considered a furlough?