You must be smoking the good stuff tonight.

 

The truth hurts bruh. Sorry mang.

 

I held 15-17 days off as an FO and I was only on reserve 1 MONTH as a CA. I hold a 15 day off line as a CA upgrading 19 months after DOH.

But you're right this place sucks so bad. (insert most obvious eye roll possible)

 

Can any mesa pilot actually say their contract isn't among the worst in the industry? I'm not here throwing stones. I just want an honest answer. I've seen the union's own factual sheet pointing exactly at that fact. One can always say that comparing regionals is pointless because they're all terrible. But one has to start somewhere. If you set the bar too low, then the bar quickly becomes dangerously close to nothing.

 

But........upgrades....oh wait.........

 

I am currently at Mesa and will answer your question. Without a doubt our contract is below industry average. Pay and QOl items are below what most regionals have in place today. In addition our insurance costs are considerable. If you are looking for quick movement and have previous 121 time upgrades are moving quickly to date. Moving forward a lot will depend on if additional aircraft will come on property. If you don't have any 121 time there are a lot of choices out there with better pay and still decent movement. I don't know why face biter is always all over the Mesa stuff but he does have one point. If things slow down (music stops) then look closely at what the pay benefits and QOL look like for FOs. I have seen things go from street captains to dead stop. Seriously consider airlines with interview programs at the Majors. Some even offer them to FOs like Endeavor. Face Biter I will disagree with you though that if the music stops here there will be no other options. You can jump ship in this environment to any other regional, barring any major national event it will be that way at the regional level for at least another 5-7 years.

 

So first off i want to thank everyone for a little insight to things. I do have a thought in my head and I know some may think me crazy, but i was thinking I would like to settle down in TX, be it Dallas or Houston, and stay at a regional.. upgrade one day and hang around. I really do like to fly, and with my retirement to supplement my initial pay, i think i can manage. Obviously flying for the majors is a big deal with a lot of money, but once you get to be a captain with a few years in, doesn't the money become at least livable in the regionals anyway?

 

If you want to settle in TX don't rely on any regional being around one base for long term. They open and close left and right. If you like to fly and want to stay put in TX take a look at Executive Airshare. They are a fractional company, and have a huge base in Fort Worth. Hiring like crazy and no crazy 121 requirements to upgrade. Have a friend there and he loves it. Starting pay is more than the regionals and you will probably upgrade within the year depending on how close you are to their company mins.

 

All true except you will fly your tail off. Don't plan on getting 14 or 15 days off per month. It's more like 6 or 7 days off a month. I like to fly but I also love my family. They are a great company and they do pay really well.

 

Don't sell yourself short. If you have no black marks on your military record and are personable, you can be at United or Southwest in no time and be in a Texas hub that will not close like a regional base would. Besides, you don't want to put up with the regional BS in your retirement. Go somewhere where you are respected for what you bring to the company.