Being Hired at Mesa —Your Airline Seniority Begins

PRIMARY or PACE program graduates who successfully complete ground schools and flight training with a minimum of a "B" average are guaranteed a pilot interview with Mesa Air Group. You will not spend additional funds to earn instructor certificates in our programs. You will not have to build additional flight time to meet the company’s published flight minimums. On the average, 92% percent of our pilots have been hired with Mesa with total flight time of 250 hours at the point of hire!

When you complete training in the CRJ/FTD on campus, you prepare to exit the program as a graduate and finalize the application process for the company. Interviews take place at Mesa’s corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona or the interview panel will come to San Juan College to conduct interviews. The interview panel typically is comprised of two people (two pilots or a pilot and an HR representative).They know where you trained and therefore how you were trained. You are expected to demonstrate your knowledge of instrument procedures, CRJ systems, and FAA/ATP rules and regulations. 

The panel will make their recommendations to the Chief Pilot at Mesa who is ultimately responsible for signing off on you as a newly hired pilot. The airline will conduct background checks on every pilot. 

Pilot candidates will be notified about the results of their interview when the airline completes its process.  This can occur as quickly as a few days following the interview or 3 – 4 weeks after the interview. How soon a pilot is told to report to ground school with the company will depend on the company’s need at the time.

Mesa wants our graduate pilots who come from this program. Why? Failure rates are reduced and flight training time at the company is reduced.  Ultimately, this means there is a savings in training costs for the company. For you, it means that you are prepared for your Part 121 FAA proficiency check which you must pass to keep your job.

Our program has a legacy of success that goes back to 1989. Read the testimonials that some of our pilot graduates have written since they became airline pilots.