My Mesa Interview (June 21)

I just a have a few things to say about Mesa. No, I don't work for them but my boyfriend does (for 3+ years)... so I have some knowledge (far from an expert though!).

I just want to say that yes, the company is crappy and he has no QOL. BUT: he went from being a 1900FO to CRJ FO to EJR Captain in approx 3 years. In my book that's pretty good upgrade time, right? Also he has met some of the greatest friends at the company. NOT in management, I'm talking about other pilots. A lot of these friends at Mesa have moved on to bigger and better- SWA, FedEx, etc... and some couldn't take it anymore and went to another regional.

I know it is fun to slam Mesa, but it has given him PIC, some great friendships, and the chance to move on to bigger and better (hopefully soon!).
My 2 cents.

The pay scales never depend on if you have a degree or not.

No, you could have two guys, one with a GED and one with a PhD and they would be paid the same at any airline.

OK. Got it. My perception about having the degree is that, if and when an opportunity becomes available and a degreed pilot decides to hang up their wings, the degree can help transition the former pilot to management. It's nice having a manager who can "empathize" with the folks on the ground. In the trenches understanding the needs of the employees then transitioning to management might help improve perceptions. . .if management will allow one to transition.

The difference main reasons between a degree and no degree in aviation is for one to enhance your resume and secondly, some major airlines require it or highly recommend it. The more you have to offer the higher your resume is on the stack. Just like walked in, flight hours, type of flight hours, ratings etc. The more you have to offer the company the more appealing you are to them.

Along the lines of moving over to a desk job, I guess it would be possible but when an airline is hiring a pilot that is the job they are hiring for. I would recommend getting some kind of higher education. I would not recommend it to be in aviation just so you have something to fall back on.

David

in the interviews I have, well, "participated in," it is not looked too highly upon if the applicant does not posses a bachelors degree. There are just too many competitive applicants with a degree to give credit to those who have not...

I disagree with the statement above. I will say that you will be more competitive with a bachelor’s degree. However, with the hiring trends of today's regionals I would recommend more hours than a degree. Most airlines like Mesa, Skywest, Chautauqua are all hiring most everyone they can get their hands on with quality time. Also, with most of the majors coming out of bankruptcy and the amount of attrition that is still happening they will to be hiring heavily. Which makes the regionals requirements drop.

I would highly recommend getting a degree for sure but I don't believe it truly makes a big difference if you have over 1000 and 100. Good luck and if you have any questions specific to Mesa. Feel Free...

How does Mesa pay stand-up overnights and do they provide hotel rooms?

I have a question...im pursuing a BA in Aviation Management. Is this an unwise choice? My thoughts when i chose this degree were that i could fall back on a management position or something near that and still stay in the aviation industry. Is my thinking wrong here?

Cam

Segement credit and per diem. Yes they provide hotel rooms.

The whole "Mesa and hotel rooms" thing stems from some flights that schedule through Las Vegas in the middle of the night with a 3 hour sit. Any other flight that scheduled a 3 hour sit anywhere is not entitled to a hotel room - and that's probably true at most airlines. The Las Vegas camping trips suck for a variety of reasons, but a hotel room would not solve the problem (since you'd spend most of the sit getting to and from the room).

Is 4 hours the cutoff between getting a hotel room and not?

Without pulling out the contract - I believe so.

Don't go to mesa...

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/Vi...aa/chod15b.wmv

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