Well, I'll go out on a limb here and say it. I don't think Mesa Airlines (Mesa Air Group, officially) will be around too much longer. In all honesty, I hope to be wrong on this one. Even though their management is one of the worst in the business, they are a very good group of pilots. However, they have lost flying they were doing for United, and now Delta is taking them to court for a SECOND TIME trying to get out of their contract. This seems to be sealing the fate of Mesa even if its not immediate.
As I sit back, trying to stay isolated from it all, I see all the other regional carriers biting and scratching at the fence like a pack of wolves, eyeing the United flying that Mesa no longer has, it occurs to me that this is exactly what the mainline carriers want. Everyone talks of how Delta is in a tough position with too many regional carriers. I call bullshit. Delta and Northwest knew this would be the case and it's just what Dick Anderson and Doug Stealin wanted. With too many regionals to contract flying out to, this means the regionals are once again, feverishly pitted against one another for survival. This means the mainline companies can demand more for less from the regionals. This is what has gotten us to where we are today. Pilots with $100k worth of training being paid $20k/year to work 15hrs per day, be paid for 8, and get about 7 hrs of sleep. All the while they live under constant threat of company discipline and/or FAA enforcement.
In the past, this has been called "Whipsawing." This is what big corporations do. They have contractors which they farm work out to, so they pit them against each other and let them fight to the death over what is being offered. Makes perfect business sense. Doesn't make any other kind of sense, really, but these corporations have no understanding outside of "the bottom line." None. None whatsoever.
As a flying passenger, it might be worth taking a minute to understand that the airline you booked your ticket on can operate routes cheaper when they farm the flying out to smaller regional carriers who fly aircraft painted to look just like the mainline carrier you booked your flight with. The aircraft are smaller, cheaper, burn less fuel. They require fewer flight attendants, and the pilots are paid less. A lot less. For the regional carrier you are on, just take a moment to think about what cost cutting measures may have occurred in order for that carrier to "win" the route you are flying from other regional carriers. The pilots might have taken pay cuts. The flight attendants might have given up some 401k matching. The ground crews kicking your bags around the tarmac might have been dropped from $8.50/hr back to $8.00/hr, a gain that took them 2 years to get in the first place. Perhaps also, the maintenance staff was reduced by 10% to help cut costs. What might that mean? Might mean the aircraft you are on has more systems on it that are being deferred, rather than actually fixed. Keep in mind, this is perfectly legal. However, depending on what is deferred, this might increase pilot workload. Also, keep in mind, the decision to make these reductions and pay cuts come from a group of people who take no such pay cuts themselves. They just sit back on their thrones, complain about the price of oil, and force others to make consolations in order to keep their paychecks coming in, unharmed and ever larger. And, let's not forget about the tens of MILLIONS of dollars in bonuses and stock awards that they receive on top of those multi-million base salaries.
Anyone up for bringing back public flogging?
One exception that is worth noting here: Southwest. The one carrier in all of the US that seems to get it. Southwest's CEO, Gary Kelly, actually took a cut from his base pay for 2009. Of course, I'm sure he's still not sweating a rent check this month, but this is a different world that the other airline CEOs live in. Am I the only one who sees that Southwest flight crews are some of the best paid in the industry? What about the fact that Southwest routinely ranks at or near the top of endless customer satisfaction ratings?
“If the employees come first, then they’re happy. A motivated employee treats the customer well. The customer is happy so they keep coming back, which pleases the shareholders. It's not one of the enduring Green Mysteries of all time, it is just the way it works.” -Herb Kelleher, Former CEO, Southwest Airlines
Ironic... don't cha think?
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