Quote:
Originally Posted by CrowneVic
I would like to know why Mesa has the reputation it does with certain people. I know pay is generally lower, but my priorities are base location, equipment, and gaining seniority the fastest, so I can achieve the best QOL. The pay issue doesn't bother me as much.
I understand the schedules are tough and they fly you a lot, but shouldn't that improve within a reasonable time with seniority, considering they are hiring so much?
Is all the negative talk truly justified?
What is life at Mesa really like?
Can it be possible that a major carrier looks down on an applicant simply because they worked somewhere, rather than consider experience, clean record, company fit, etc?
I am contemplating applying, and would appreciate honest, non-emotional feedback based in fact, from ACTUAL current/very-recently-former Mesa pilots. You may have "heard" something from a "friend", but you don't actually KNOW if you never worked there, so I would appreciate comments being limited to the above group.
Thank you kindly.
I agree that responses on this board should be suspect. Positive responses are normally company recruiters (trolls) and negative responses are normally trolls from other regionals. Also, each base is different. There isn’t one answer for Mesa.
In IAH, for an FO (once you get out of training) life isn’t bad “for now”. They awarded “Min Credit” last month to some FO’s. “For now” is also operative. Last May, we were short of FO’s and Mesa was beating the FO’s to death. I got weekends and Christmas off this month.
Now, we are short of CA’s in IAH, Mesa is beating the CA’s to death. In my opinion, it is causing CA’s to move on sooner than if they weren’t being beat to death. On the other hand, CA’s are picking up trips at 300% like crazy and some are blocking over 200 credit hours per month. For an FO’s, the brow beating of CA’s has shortened the upgrade time from 24 months to 21 months.
To get a job with a major carrier, you have to meet their requirements. I flew with 4 CA’s last month. One was going to Spirit and one was going to Southwest. Another guy I know went to Delta last month.
Make sure you have your 4 year degree. After you have your 1,000 hours 121 time for the upgrade, then head to the training department. All this looks good on a resume for a major. Look at your check-ride/training busts. Your professional appearance. Would a major hire you if they interviewed you?
A home base offers a QOL that cannot be overlooked. There is not a better regional at IAH. If health insurance is a show stopper, then commute to a different regional with better health benefits.
One concern that I have for the outlook for Mesa is that all the regionals, except Mesa, are starting to respond to the Endeavor pay bump. That means new hires will dry up again and we could see negative pilot growth, like we had before our new contract, again. That means Mesa will just load up our schedules.