A COVID Career Path
When I was sitting in my new-hire class July of 2018, Mesa Airlines’ CEO, Jonathan Ornstein, told us that right now, we are the most sought after commodity on the planet. Being a commercial or ATP-rated pilot meant we were extremely marketable; companies and airlines were bending over backwards to snatch each and every one of us up. In my new-hire class, we had pilots from the Middle East, pilots with perfect training records, older pilots just starting their commercial careers and everything in between. It was a very exciting time! We all knew that American, United, Delta, Southwest, UPS, and FedEx would be calling once we got the necessary regional experience. Online forums were blazing with updated retirement numbers, hiring projections and the latest job fairs. This was the time to be in aviation and we were all hitting it at the perfect moment.
For a little background on myself, I went to a small Christian college in Longview, Texas for my degree and flight training. I majored in Professional Flight and was able to complete all of my ratings in-house. I instructed for a couple years at the same college before I was able to secure my first job in the corporate world. I stayed on the corporate side of aviation for about 10 years flying anything I could get my hands on. I’ve flown part 91, part 135, piston, jets, turboprops and I’ve worked as a Chief Pilot. Despite that experience, everywhere I went and everyone I talked to said if I ever wanted to fly for a mainline, I would need to go to the regionals and “pay my dues”.
Fast forward to September 2018 when I hit the line as a First Officer at Mesa Airlines. I was filled with excitement to be work for a regional airline and very honored to have the trust of our passengers in the American Airlines system. Airline work is challenging, but equally rewarding. When walking through the airport, it is fun to see who is flying and guess where they are going using just visual clues. My favorite part is talking to children who are traveling, inviting them into the flight deck for pictures, or seeing their fascination with all the lights and buttons!
The summer of 2019 was a whirlwind. Hiring was booming and flying was at full-throttle. Everyone was timing out and premium pay was being thrown around left and right. I was able to quickly rack up the time needed to qualify for a captain upgrade class in December 2019, 14 months since hitting the line as a new First Officer.
About half way through the captain upgrade, my class and I started to hear the news about a virus overseas. We didn’t pay a lot of attention to this news because we were too busy studying. I made it through IOE in February and started back on reserve about the time that the number of COVID-19 cases in the US were on a steep rise.
While I would have had more hours as a Captain by now, the industry has been hit hard with reductions in flying. Rumors of furloughs started to swirl around. People wearing masks meant I don’t get to see the smiles on passengers’ faces when walking through the terminal. Through the summer months, you could tell that people were on edge and not excited about flying.
Thankfully by the end of August, things began to change. Although we are still wearing masks, people seem to be in good spirits and more up-beat. Cleaning was increased dramatically which has not only made passengers happier, but also created a healthier environment for us to work in. Mesa has been great about making sure you’re fit for duty and don’t have any external pressures that might affect safety or performance.
Procedurally, nothing has changed besides wearing masks. Crews are still as good as ever and working together as a team. Mesa employees have always been an incredible group of people who could quickly band together, which is a highly sought after trait in the industry.
One thing that people need to remember is that this too shall pass! The aviation industry can be volatile at times, but it’s always cyclical. Passengers will come back. Pilots will be needed again. Blue skies and calm winds ahead. We just need to weather this storm.
