flapshalfspeed

At a minimum, 25%+ pilots on the Mesa seniority list would have been terminated from Republic by now for stupid things like going over 4 sick calls in a year, no-showing on reserve, non-revving home after calling in sick, etc..

While I def agree our pay/contract sucks, you guys who started your 121 careers here have no idea how moralistic and punitive the management culture is at almost every other regional in the US.

There's a reason people from other regionals come here and stay for a bit--and it isn't just the upgrade time.

Not saying we'll survive going forward with our current contract and no flow/preferential hiring, but the previous/present HR/management culture have kept a lot of people like myself here for a bit. I hope that doesn't change anytime soon.

BeatNavy

I agree, which is one reason I came to Mesa. That said, if attrition gets going and we get short staffed, I think crew tracking will be all up in our junk with JAs. Kinda like the stories I heard from 07-08.

ScottyDo

I hope your not throwing me into that boat with some of the loosers we do hire ,who do abuse the system and are just plain sh*t pilots. It seems like almost half of my new hire class had IOE go well past 100 hours which is just sad. I for one was done with IOE at 20 hours and have never missed a single day of work, not too bad for my first 121 gig? But that's the environment we are in, we take who we can get and apparently hire people over e-mail now. This is a great place just some more cash in the pocket would be nice and not having some really terrible pilots would be nice as well, but that is the training departments problem. Which I imagine they are a little more stringent now that airplanes are getting bent now and again.

BE24pilot

I hope it wasn't 20hrs. I'm fairly sure the FARs require you do do a minimum of 25.

ScottyDo

lol good catch your absolutely right, I meant 25 not 20

Bucketofpropwas

First time post be gentle.. I'm wondering what to expect as a new hire, or life in training on the 175 the good, bad, and ugly of IAH, typical trips, 175 training footprint in PHX, home study or typical training delays between Indoc and sims? What's the formate for reserve, long call, short can you pick trips? Can you find a Crashpad or cheap hotels in IAH? Pros cons of CRj V EJet best for a new hire.
Thanks. No haters please.

ScottyDo

And after that whole post about how we don't need more people coming in the door this would happen haha.

Skyler02

Not sure how I offended you but I am very, very versed on Mesa and the regional industry in general. If you would like to refute anything I posted as not being correct information, please let me know. I have no problem retracting something that is not true. My goal here is to give people making career decisions as much information as possible, so they can make the best decision for them and their career. My ultimate goal is to better this profession for all of us. You included.

As some of these other posters have said, Mesa has some good aspects to it. The majority of the pilots are great to work with. The company generally treats you fairly (compensation aside). The training department is great.

The problem is the compensation has fallen way behind it's competitors and is virtually impossible to live on. I am at Mesa. But it will be short-lived. I already have an exit plan. I made the decision to come here when the playing field was more level. Now, it is not. Mesa is far behind and by going somewhere else you no longer have to go further into debt every month trying to live on reserve, paying for airport food and hotels. I didn't even attempt to get an apartment. Actually, I did try, it's virtually impossible to afford even an efficiency on FO salary at a location that works with the 90 minute call out. Other airlines are making improvements. We have choices now. At other airlines, compensation has improved. And they give commuters hotels in base. Even a 2 hour call out makes a difference to give pilots more housing choices. This stuff is life changing.

Not everyone is able to sleep in a Crashpad with 8+ strangers and get adequate sleep to then fly passengers in a jet. I would venture to say not many at all walk out of a Crashpad with adequate sleep. Flying fatigued is just another hazard of the job that has somehow become acceptable. It is not acceptable. It is not safe. And if you think Mesa crews don't live in the airport, walk to the end of terminal D and you'll see crews in the bathroom "freshening up". I'm not making this stuff up. I wish I was.

It is impossible to live in IAD on starting FO salary and afford a decent place to live that will allow you to get to the gate with a 90 minute call out. It could possibly be done with government assisted housing, but a new hire FO does not make enough to qualify for that unless they are flying enough on reserve to get enough per diem to get them to the MINIMUM salary required to qualify.

Anyway, good luck to all in making your career decisions. I hope the information provided is helpful.

Skyler02

Subsidized Housing IAD

If you do decide to go to Mesa and are looking at IAD, here's the link to subsidized housing:
https://www.loudoun.gov/index.aspx?NID=2676

$22.18 X 76 hrs X 12 months = $20,228 per year Mesa salary.

$20,288 is below the $22,950 the county requires as a minimum salary to qualify for the program. They know if you make below $22,950, that even with their subsidy, you still will have a hard time paying rent. That is for an efficiency apartment. Nothing fancy. It's pretty telling.

Here is the link to the county's salary requirement table:
https://www.loudoun.gov/DocumentCenter/View/99586. (ADU Rental)

I have a moral problem relying on fireman, teachers, garbage collectors, etc. to pay taxes to subsidize pilot's living expenses. But I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.

El Dorado

You knew what the pay was when you came here. Why ***** and moan about something you willingly accepted?

Not sure how your check was so low, mine was just shy of $700, and I have health and dental insurance taken out, as well as money for uniforms.