Yes but in this case I can commute from CHO-LGA and it will be on Mesaba. If I took Colgan I would have to commute CHO-IAD-BOS or CHO-IAD-IAH or RIC-BOS/RIC-IAH. The thing that interested me in Colgan is that eventually I could get the IAD base and then it would just be CHO-IAD 38 min flight / 2hr drive. But I decided to take the seniority, since eventually everything will be integrated and I should be able to bid IAD for the "new" Mesaba. I hope I'm right at least, we'll see lol

Sure, there's a small chance that it could really bite you. I didn't read the whole thread, but it sounds like this could be his first airline job and first time commuting. When I started I had no clue how much commuting can affect your life. A longer commute = more time away from home unpaid. Lucky for me the airline I chose had a base that was extremely convenient for me. If you have to start commuting in the night before that's less days off. If you have 4 trips for the month that 4 extra nights in a hotel...one that you have to pay for.

Agree or disagree, but the whole picture needs to be looked at. If you live in base you'll never understand what a pain it is to commute and how much extra it takes from your home life.

In the new sli thread someone mentioned that mesabas saab lga flying is going away, anybody have an idea what this means for the new hires in the may 9th and june 6th classes?

From my EXTREMELY minimum experience it seems like airlines hire right until they have to furlough so new hires who don't see it coming end up getting furloughed.

This slot swap proposal has been going on for the better part of a year or two. This version looks like it will go through but that won't happen for a year from now. The Saabs could be moved to DC for US Airways or replace some of the older Colgan aircraft.

they'll end up flying CRJs for pinnacle... that's the one great thing about all this... as long as one of the three companies still has a need for pilots somewhere in the system, none of the newhires have anything to worry about... unlike flying for one mainline carrier that hates your guts...

I think it's more accurate to say "hates Comair's guts". The rest of us are simply guilty by association.

Ah ok thanks. I should learn my lesson and take what I read on here with a grain of salt. I wasn't aware it was going to take so long. For now I should be good to go then and will hopefully make it through training and expect Saab LGA, of course I'm aware I should be flexible as whatever the company needs is where I will end up.

I guess that explains the scarlet "C" branded on my chest...

Could any Saab Mesaba guys confirm for me if it's true that the LIghtspeed Zulu headset is not allowed by the company? I'm really hoping this isn't true as it means I have to start planning on acquiring a headset... Thanks

Not true........

what is the lowest Meseba will consider becasue on the website site 600TT is perferred I am around 370TT and 109ME with a CFI/CFII and I am getting my MEI what do you think.

Build up a little more time and then send your stuff in, of course some will tell you that it never hurts to apply anyhow and just continue to update. If you can get an internal rec that would also help. Good luck.

What do you think? Do you think that is enough time? Most of it as a trainee and not as a trainer. Do you think that is enough time/experience to fly a Saab or a CRJ?

It never hurts to apply and I would certainly go for the MEI. In late '07 i know people with 300 TT were conditionally hired but had to build to 400. I wouldn't count on that right now due to insurance requirements and supply/demand... also they probably spelled "Mesaba" correctly.

Now thats funny.... It makes me sick to see 300hr pilots wanting to bypass paying their dues and go straight to the airlines. Buck up, the mins are the mins. If the mins were 200/10 then by all means apply, if not don't apply until you meet the mins. Its very simple. :rolleyes:

Thats funny.... because I can guarantee if you had been offered a interview at 300 hours. You would not have told the recruiter Uhhhhhh you know what guy I think I am going to pass on this great opportunity, because I don't believe I have "paid my dues yet"......

It isn't about paying one's dues (honestly I do not care to have someone go through crap to move up). It is about learning how to fly and being PIC. The great thing about hauling checks in a Warrior is one SIGNS for the aircraft and one has some time making tough decisions (do I take off into a storm, how do I navigate around a cell, and when do I say NO, I will NOT fly).

Those are the decisions a CAPTAIN makes. After one has learned about the nuances of the transport aircraft he is to fly (as a SIC), and he has the experience to decide when a flight should NOT go, THEN he is ready to be a PIC of an aircraft hauling pax.

I do not fault folks for trying to get ahead, but I DO fault the system that allows someone who has not made the hard decisions from being PIC.

Well read the second half of what I said... If the mins say 200/10 and thats what you have then by all means apply. If the mins say 1000/100 and you have 350/90 don't bother. That's all I'm saying. :)

When do the new 1500 hour mins go into effect? It would be nice to get more experienced FO's into the cockpits of our regional airlines.

Well said, FlyJSH. This has been a heated debate for quite some time with Congress passing that bill requiring all Part 121 pilots to have 1,500 hrs of flight experience (effective August 2013 I think?). It's nearly impossible to guarantee the quality of someone's piloting skills simply because the bottom right column in their logbook adds up to a certain number. I could be an amazing pilot with 500 hrs and not make the grade because my time doesn't meet the requirement. On the other hand, I could have 2,500 hrs and not be capable of flying straight and level.

There are exceptions but the 2500 hour pilot is going to do a much better job than the 500 hour pilot. Yes there are exceptions but when you put a 500 hour pilot in the right seat of a regional it burdens the Captain to now have to babby sit and play flight instructor for the entire trip.

Sheesh. Poor English is poor.

Absolutely. If the 500 hr pilot has 100 right-seat King Air time, he/she may be more qualified/skilled than the 2,500 hr pilot with only single-engine piston time flying solo going low and slow. But you're correct, the vast majority of the time the pilot with more time will be the more skilled of the two. Babysitting or CFI'ing in that kind of an operation is definitely uncalled for and then we need to wonder how that FO slipped through the cracks to get to that point.

It would be nice if the minimums help us get paid more like professionals. That is going to be the biggest gain.

I am curious what is to happen to the separate seniority lists after the merger. Is pinnacle/mesaba going to share one list and allow pilots to cross from one company to the other to go from saab to q400 to crj or are the mesaba turboprops and pinnacle jet fleets going to keep their own pilot groups? Im sure this has been covered before but I couldn't find the answer and was curious. Thanks!

All three lists are being merged into one as we speak. Pilots will be able to bid between different equipment, bases, and airlines. The time frame is unknown as the arbitrator has yet to release the integrated seniority list and I don't know if there will be fences or when one would be able to jump to the other side.

I'm glad we're going with one list to eliminate the whipsawing but we're all pretty anxious to see where we'll fall in the new Pinacolsaba.

I'm guessing about the same day as brand scope happens, (never.)

Not to be outline of line here but who was playing flight instructor when your airline landed a wide body on an Atlanta taxi way?

And not to be a slave to statistics, but on average who do you think makes a STATISCALLY higher number of mistakes per flight hour that might lead to an incident or accident? The 500 HR or 2500 HR pilot?
I'm not sure that I have EVER anyone's post (that at least has a sliver of credibility) that suggested that even high time airlines pilots are immune to making mistakes :rolleyes:

USMCFLYR

PS - the question above already has a statistical answer that most on this forum will know.
But we all know about statistics right?

Thats a good one!

Are you statistically talking of airline or general aviation? If you are speaking of GA errors than your numbers are skewed because there is much larger pool of sub 2500 hour pilots than above. That would result in a higher number of mistakes, but not necessary a higher average of mistakes on a one to one basis.

I don't have numbers since I have never authored a report ;)
In the safety courses that I have attended, the higher risk aviators have fallen around the 500 and 1500 hr marks.
Take the statistical reports with a grain of salt. If I was an internet warrior interested in hours of research I could probably find some evidence that these are the safest pilots out there!
But I'll lean towards the studies that I have seen for now - unless something better crosses my screen.

USMCFLYR