How does Mesaba know you gave up your seniority number at your old airline? Is it possible to tell Mesaba you gave it up but didn't?

 

Depends on the two companies and the circumstances of the merger. If pilot group X had a more senior list than Pilot group Y would that be fair?

 

Y would it be fair to those who were furloughed with a more senior number?

 

Mesaba would know because on the first day, you will be asked to sign a letter saying you're resigning, which then gets sent to HR at the company you're resigning from. Mesaba will then follow up to ensure the pilot has truly resigned. A chief pilot could never shred a letter they would never see.

 

Ok third time now stay with me here. IT HAS NEVER HAPPENED IN ANY ALPA MERGER EVER!!

First off DOH is not ALPA merger policy. ALPA merger policy is a "fair" integration with no windfalls.


Second A furloughed pilot from x will never be placed above an active pilot from y. The entire USair mess they are in now is because furloughed pilots from the East were placed below active pilots from the west.

You keep mentioning seniority. Seniority is a company only thing. Right now our "union" has no national seniority list.

I think what you mean to mention is longevity. Longevity has little or no effect in ALPA merger policy.

Am I saying it is right? No but thats how it is. Furloughed pilots always go at the bottom of any merged list. Always!

 

What he said.....

 

If I was Comair, I would tell you everything you wanted to hear and recall my guys in order of seniority so I could recoup the cost of training them and barely using them. I wouldn't care about your need for a resignation letter to employ a pilot that I spent thousands of dollars training in aircraft that I was projecting to be flying. Some might come back, some might not... but you bet I would have a list of all the people I furloughed and they would be on my list to call back when the time comes.

Business is one big ethical dilemma isn't it?

 

So you're saying that just because Comair paid lots of money to train a pilot they're going to ignore a letter of resignation? At what point should a company take a letter of resignation seriously? Never in your world apparently.

 

For those of you who have not read the Anderson interview, that was very enlightening. Anderson stated that after the merger DAL would like to start with Mesaba and Compass when he was asked if he wants to streamline regionals flying for DAL. Mesaba and Compass is already held under a Mesaba Compass Holding Corporation. Anderson indicated he was happy with the structure set up at Mesaba and the projected CASM.

As far as growth, no official word has been announced but Mesaba is interviewing and hiring like there is no tomorrow. Mesaba already has 34 of the 36 CRJ9 promised so that is not the reason for all this hiring. The pilot roster grew from less than 600 in early 2007 to approx 1150 as of this month and the list keeps growing every time the seniority list comes out. The maintenance manager last week told us he had received the serial and registration numbers for 17 additional CRJ9s and he added the additional aircraft are coming to Mesaba and he was very certain about it. Take it for what its worth.

I do not think Mesaba and Comair will merge. Anderson did not even mention Comair and there are simply too many barriers for the Comair and Mesaba pilots to merge. What will happen to Comair is on everyones mind but no one really knows for sure. According to aviation analysts, Comair is too heavy with CRJ200s that are no longer economically attractive to major airlines. As far as Mesaba and Compass, I do not see those two merging either. Mesaba does their payroll and other administrative functions according to our management, but that's about it. There is no plan for those two to merge.

I agree that hindsight is always 20/20. It's always a gamble trying to stay ahead in this airline business. I can't recommend what you should do because you have to make that decision. Only thing I can say is talk to Mesaba pilots, compare the QOL and the work rules and see if Mesaba would be a good fit for you. Giving up seniority number is always hard but it would make sense if the other benefits outweigh the loss.

 

All the folks who are hating on Mesaba for possibly (it's so obvious) growing with the new Delta need to do some homework. Go back and research what Mesaba has gone through in the last 5-8 years, most notably our bankruptcy in 2005-2007.

We did not voluntarily take paycuts to undercut any other airline for growth. Our paycuts were taken with a gun to our heads. At least ALPA was able to negotiate very lucrative claims as well as snap back provisions for our pay. No work rules were touched. We were shrunk by HALF and then rebuilt with new planes and and more than half of our pilot group has less than 2 years seniority. I know it's hard to be positive when another airline is growing an you're stagnant or shrinking. But why all the hate?

Do you haters all realize that when the rest of the industry was growing and prospering Mesaba was getting screwed left and right? Half our pilots weren't here for that drama, but the other half was. It's no fun to be on the receiving end of the stick that's beating you. But don't be hating because some other company FINALLY is having some positive news for more than a minute.