overspeed

I guess what I am asking is, are those 200 routes from DTW or MSP?

xj200capt

Since all 200's are based in MSP, the answer to your post about MEM and DTW routes is none.

Until all of the 200's are on property there is going to be a lot of fluctuations in where the 200's are going.

bored

The Airlinks are capped at 90 76 seat aircraft. With Mesaba and Compass both operating 36 frames for a total of 72, that means NWA can only allow the Airlinks to fly up to 18 more planes. While it would be nice if Mesaba got them, only NWA knows where they'll be operated. This assumes NWA even takes their options.

I don't think the reason we're operating 200s is for place holding of any sort. I think it's simply getting us back to operating at the size we were pre Ch11 and before they stopped the deliveries of the original order of 200s.

bored

Regarding the 200 flying... the majority of it is out of the MSP hub, but starting in April the flying will bridge to DTW. Looking into May it seems the flying will bridge through DSM, MLI, ROC and RST to do DTW flying. LAN, FNT, CLE, ROC, CVG, MLI, MSN and some other cities will be served from DTW. In addition the DSM-DCA-MSN-DCA-DSM round robin will be flown by the XJ 200 until the June schedule change. The pilots are still all based in MSP however.

jayray2

Is the only time you can change a domicile on a vacancy (so if two people wanted to move to MSP from MEM and two people wanted to go from MSP to MEM do they have to wait for a vacancy)? How long will they continue to have vacancies every month? How much more staffing do they need on the 900?

racemey

When did you interview EvilGN? I interviewed in late Feb and got offered a job 2 weeks ago and was told to expect late May/June for possible class dates. Just curious how far between your offer/ class date is.

Thanks for any info!

EvilGN

I interviewed in late Jan, was originally a Saab guy and was told I would start in Mar. Slow down in Saab upgrades and I became a 900 guy with a May start date, spot opened up last week, and now I am an Apr start.

racemey

Ok, thanks for the info. Good luck with everything and hopefully I will be following soon.

Another general question: Any of you Mesaba pilots commute from the West Coast? I live in Sacramento which has 2 daily nonstops on NWA to MSP and a few nonstops on Fedex to MEM, so I am hoping for either of those.

xj200capt

Thanks for the clarification. I have been waiting so long my oral and PC have expired. Just found out I get to retrain starting on April 4th.

I like the idea of bridge flights, makes things much more interesting than going back and forth to CWA the whole time.

RJ85FO

Yes. In order to change base, equipment or seat, there has to exist an "opening" for you to change to. Those are presented on a Vacancy notice. Vacancany notices are posted based on need. Needs are high right now, so we are seeing vacancies about every two weeks. As our staffing levels increase over the next 3-6 months, the vacancies will slow to more or less replace pilots who move on from Mesaba.

After the April 7 class, we will probably still need in the neighborhood of 70-80 more FO's for the 900. Maybe about 20 more for the 200. Saab is staffed about right, but will have to backfill some FO's as individuals upgrade to the left seat. Flow to NWA (if it stays in full swing) will take about 50 in 2008. Attrition has slowed to a trickle in the top half of the list. There will probably continue to be movement at the bottom as the street captains get their 1000 hours of PIC and move on.

If we get additional aircraft, growth mode continues. If not, Mesaba has traditionally been a good airline to hang your hat for many years. Upgrade pre-bankruptcy would be in the 5-6+ year range will little movement between bases.