prior121

Hope this is only meant towards our junior FOs - who aren't close to an upgrade.

Like h$ll I'll give up my semi senior 175 CA seniority for anything but an LCC/Legacy. Even for a regional with a supposed "5 year flow."

chrisreedrules

Yea my post wasn't directed at you. I think if you're a CA giving up the TPIC and seniority is silly unless the list starts sliding out from beneath you. Anyone but senior FOs about to upgrade and CAs should be looking to get out though. Whether that's upward or a lateral move to a regional with a better outlook is up to them.

chrisreedrules

And something to consider about this industry... It's a Ferris wheel. Those on top always come down and those on the bottom inevitably come up. Mesa may pull a gold rabbit out of the hat eventually, but the prospects of that are looking bleaker every day. I think it would take not only pay but also many more aircraft coming your way to stave off either bankruptcy or a merger. Neither will be good for you.

tinman1

Yup! I remember when just a few years ago everyone was saying to avoid Envoy like the plague, and then earlier this year "the wheels were falling off" at RAH...this industry is all cyclical and even though Mesa could theoretically catapult itself to the front of the line, I am not optimistic.

It's getting to the point where a junior CA could quit here, go to Envoy and take a negligible paycut, and gain a sweet commuter clause.

tinman1

Well, that's assuming AA doesn't get bought out or go under. I know quite a few FOs at the WOs who would be straight up hosed if the flow went away for whatever reason. A lot of these guys are complacent. Hired at a WO in their 20s, no college degree, no work experience outside of aviation, no community involvement, and no major qualifications of any kind. Complacency kills.

A good thing about working at Mesa is it keeps you motivated to move on. For me moving on has become a second job. I'm constantly updating my apps, networking, volunteering, researching interview gouges, and trying to get any edge I can to get my ass qualified to make a vertical move.

chrisreedrules

I think the prospects of AA getting bought or going under are so far fetched that it isn't even a consideration needing to be made. And you can be just as motivated somewhere else as you can at Mesa. Like I said earlier, all regionals suck. PSA and Envoy aren't immune to the regional suck. You will just make more and have better QOL while you endure the suck. No one is counting on the flow. I haven't talked to anyone that is more than a few years away from flowing who is even concerned with it. It's a nice thing to have in your back pocket, but by no means should it provide absolute peace of mind.

tinman1

We must know different people then

iFlyRC

We had one jr CA leave for PDT, didn't get the fast upgrade he wanted, is now flying an Airbus. A sideways move seems silly once you have 121 experience.

FlyingDreaming

Mesa claims a short upgrade time. Mesa is now up to 2 years at 3 months. They are promising short upgrades and you will come in around 1300 pilots the next 70 upgradeable FO are mid 2014 do not believe the lie!

flapshalfspeed

This is a public forum--anyone can post on this forum freely, regardless of where they work--you seem very, very afraid of the new truth that every other regional is finally, finally paying us what we are actually worth and providing people with a defined pathway to the very legacies whose passengers and shareholders we have taken care of and transported safely/on-time for years and years on end (at a fraction of what they pay their own people).

Your comments lead me to conclude you are either in management, recruiting, or you're so high up the seniority list you're golden-handcuffed to Mesa and don't want to see it fail ever until you hit retirement, which might be soon?

The new reality is that Envoy & PSA are offering vastly better lifetime earnings, comparable upgrades, and insanely higher probability of a flow resulting in 7 figures difference in lifetime earnings--minimum--even factoring in the actuarial math on things like recessions, terrorist attacks, age 67.

I was a cheerleader for this place when our upgrade times relative to compensation elsewhere justified coming here--the landscape has changed, however--and drastically. I.e. new hire FOs at Envoy/PSA making what our junior reserve CAs make (except with a no-interview flow to AA, cheap health insurance, and insanely better travel benefits!).

I personally find it unethical for anyone to attempt to convince anyone to come here vice Envoy/PSA at this juncture. Just my morals. YMMV