Good morning pilots and mentors. I saw an ad on Facebook about Mesa’s Pilot Development Program again and decided to apply. I was wanting to know if anybody here has gone through the process or has any insight into the program.
Thank you all!
Robin,
I am a graduate from the MPD program and a current first officer at Mesa Airlines. I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have.
John
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Thank you for the response John,
I was about two flights into my CFI training when I saw the advertisement again and decided to apply. To my surprise I received a call the very next day saying I had been selected. For context, I have CMEL/CSEL with instrument ratings. I meet all the requirements minus the 25 hours of multi (currently have 8,) and I can divert the funds from CFI to finish that multi time if necessary. The recruiter told me I’d have to have the multi time by my start date which is tentatively August 5 but will likely be moved up.
Everything has happened so fast and it honestly caught me off guard. I’m very excited at this opportunity, but I don’t know if I’m in yet? I didn’t have my questions prepared yet as I didn’t expect a return call so quickly and I need to speak with the recruiters some more. The recruiter said that during my first week there would be orientation, aircraft familiarization, documents verified etc… with the day concluding with a check out flight. I’m not sure how this all works as this is my first real interaction with an airline and I’m sitting at a very humble 209 hours haha.
Is the checkout flight something to be worried about or is it relatively simple? They had mentioned in their email creating a flight plan and doing a weight and balance. I haven’t had an interview yet and assumed that would be done prior to starting the program, but I guess it’s in the first week? I’m trying to make sure I’m fully prepared for everything. So much to learn!
If I need to elaborate on anything please let me know. I’m sure many of these will be answered soon. I think I was just taken aback a bit by the promptness of the response.
EDIT - I suppose I’m just trying to plan my life around this unexpected development as I live in Georgia and committing to this would require some life restructuring. Just want to make sure I’m “in the door” so to speak before I go doing something as drastic as selling my home in this crazy market.
Thank you John!
Robin,
You are officially “in” following a satisfactory checkout flight. So I wouldn’t recommend burning any bridges before you complete it. The measly Pipistrel Alpha might not look like much but it has a pretty steep learning curve and Mesa is well aware of that. They don’t expect perfection day 1, but they want to see a conscious effort at making safe PIC decisions. In the 121 training environment you will be expected to adapt quickly to a new aircraft, so this will test that ability. As far as creating a flight plan with a W&B, that must have been added after I completed the program (Oct ‘23) so I’m not sure where that falls in.
You mentioned starting your CFI already, why not stick with that? If it’s money you don’t want to spend, then I would argue that buying 17 hours of multi time along with 250 block hours up front (per the Mesa agreement) will be just as much, if not more than an entire CFI course. Plus you will have that extra cert in your back pocket should you need it. I get instructing is not for everyone, which is why I went the aerial survey route myself. It was experience I am glad I got before going into MPD. The airline job market has become more selective nowadays, meaning the quality of your flight experience will matter again. 1300 hours of mindlessly burning holes in the sky with no real objective might not cut it. You will receive a CJO to be a first officer for Mesa, but what happens if you change your mind? Now you will have to pay pack every penny they have invested into you (in your case $75k) in an accelerated fashion versus our standard payroll deduction. What if your class gets pushed (as mine did) and another carrier is offering you a class sooner? I was only pushed 3 months, other folks have been postponed 6-12. This industry changes daily so there’s no guarantee that they will get you in the class on your CJO (hence the term conditional). The Mesa contract even clearly states that “Employment will be offered only IF and WHEN Mesa is hiring pilots.”
I had a great time in the program and built hours faster than anywhere else possible (I think?). I easily flew an average of 200+ hours a month! I was also a lot closer to ATP minimums when I applied, and I did my homework on all of the regional airlines. You might change your mind a hundred times down the road so just bear that in mind. I originally wanted to work for ExpressJet and was 100% confident at my mighty 250 hours I would go there. Now they don’t even exist anymore. The silver lining is that you don’t lock yourself in to Mesa UNTIL they start financing your flight hours. Which will come after 250 hours of flight time purchased at 50 hour increments. This is a new implementation as my contract was no up front cost, all hours paid back from payroll deduction at a rate of $25 per flight hour and at 0% interest. An absolute steal if you ask me. Was the program worth it to me? 100% no question. I quite literally would not be here without having done it, but it did require sacrifice and gambling on the industry holding up long enough for me to get in. My lengthy response was meant to show transparency about the “fine print” of the program but not in a way to discourage you or others from joining, just wanted you to be aware of the realities of the airlines. I enjoy it here and the majority of my experience is positive, but you might find some opinions that differ from mine. I hope I gave some decent insight and if you have any more questions I would be more than happy to answer.
TL;DR - Overall good program but make sure you read the fine print.
John
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I really appreciate the detailed reply John thank you. I’ll try to respond to everything as best as I can.
As far as my concerns with the new aircraft, I plan to be familiar with the systems, limitations, speeds, etc… before my flight. However I was nervous about the ability to fly it to say… commercial ACS standards right out of the gate. I’m not saying I couldn’t, and I might even surprise myself. But I’d place your bet elsewhere if you’re the gambling type haha… I wasn’t sure if they’re primarily looking for good ADM and CRM, or if it really is about flying maneuvers to standards. Hopefully when I speak to them some today I can get some clarification now that I’ve had time to collect my thoughts.
As far as the CFI, you know, I’ve had a year to juggle this around. When I came back from school with my certificates, I had to go back to work for a year to get my finances regulated. During that time I looked for low time pilot jobs with no luck. I instead continued to work as a police officer and when I was financially ready, I admittedly begrudgingly began right seat training. I’ve only flown 2 or 3 times right seat, and my demeanor towards instructing tends to go back and forth between excited optimism, and really wanting to find something else to do. It’s something that if I did it, I’d give it my all and do my best to place my students first. However I’m being honest with myself that it’s not something I’m thrilled about or might not even be good at. When the MPD program came back around, I thought “Why not?” I have my ratings now let’s see what happens.
I’ve also changed my mind a lot, mostly with the instructing gig. I read the entire aviation instructors handbook and really dove deep into the FOIs. I repeatedly find myself looking at every opportunity to NOT instruct, and yet all roads have led back to instruction until now. I can’t say I’ve wasted time either. I really didn’t have the funding to really commit to a decision until recently. The multi time would have to be bought eventually anyways so I’m not losing sleep over that. The 15k advance for the 250 hours does hurt I’ll admit. It’s also about what a CFI and CFII would cost.
I really appreciate all of your insight. I’ve tried to be as transparent and human as a white box filled with text can be. At a glance, I think I’m okay with the possibility that I’d have to wait on a class date? I still work part time for my police department, and can work as much as I want while I waited. I think I’m attracted to the CJO early on and the consistency of the time building more than anything. I hope I’ve answered some of your questions. I am grateful for the time you’ve spent replying and I hope to hear from you again. I’ll let you know how the check out process goes in a few weeks by responding to this thread.
Best wishes to you John,
Robin
Hey Robin,
I got my checkout flight set for September 2nd. Could you elaborate more on your experience so far? Trying to get as much information as possible. I’m currently in the same situation you posted as before. I don’t want to CFI and this looks like a way out. I hope to hear back soon. Thanks!
Cheers,
-Christopher
Not sure Id get too excited about Mesa right now…
Adam
I truly think this is snowball effect from the legacies having issues acquiring Airbus and Boeing aircraft… especially Boeing’s problems. Things will pick right back up on the backend of the curve, just like it did in covid times.
Brady
Oh I agree. The regional work force need directly correlates to the hiring needs of their legacy carriers. Class dates are starting to dwindle and of those avails, hefty commitment contracts come with the price of entry.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom! Just as quickly as things changed pre COVID, post COVID and now… things will stabilize back out here again.
Hannah
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Alex,
Only you can answer that question. What were you thinking when you were preflight planning? Did you look at all the threats for the given flight before deciding whether or not the flight was safe to proceed? What was your plan if weather deteriorated? Also how far should you have been flying from a thunderstorm.
This is all book knowledge that you should have applied to enhance your decision making. If not, it’s either lack of an understanding, apathy or laziness.
Hannah
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Alex,
As to what effect this may have really depends on what this bust was? Was it for a job? Another rating? Have you had other busts? Etc etc etc.
As to why you did this only you know for certain but based on you post (and the current state of the industry) I think I’ve got an idea. Far too many new pilots simply have their eyes on the finish line. Your #1 concern seems to be will this hurt my future vs wow, I did something really dumb that could’ve killed me (fun fact, weather is one of the top 5 causes of GA fatalities). The hour requirements for an airline aren’t like the knowledge tests and are simply a box to check. It’s to gain knowledge and experience. Now I’m hoping part of you recognized the weather wasn’t great and you simply wanted to get another box check so you pushed it. If that’s the case then you learned a great lesson, DON’T. Further the airlines don’t want someone who pushes the limits. They want safe and they want conservative. As an airline pilot if I have to demonstrate my superior pilot skills I probably messed something up and now I’m trying to get out of it. Not a good look.
If however you simply didn’t recognize or simply disregarded the weather well that’s a far bigger issue. Either way you need to stop thinking about Mesa and start working on being a better pilot.
Adam
M,
What kind of advice you’re looking for? We’re here to help and provide feedback, advice and guidance. This forum is a public domain and forum, hence why we don’t have private messaging and/or chat features. Ask away, start a thread, we may be able to help.
Brady