CommutAir Rumors and Info
10-01-2017, 07:16 AM
#4411
Inverted
Joined APC: Jun 2009
Position: CL65 CA
Posts: 536
People downgraded or displaced from IAD would be able to get it back quickly once the dash leaves IAD, no? More ERJ spots in IAD are bound to open up. And, the senior dash people from EWR that are taking those IAD dash spots will have no reason to stay in IAD once the dashes are gone.
10-01-2017, 07:43 AM
#4412
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2007
Position: EMB145
Posts: 772
It’s not surprising. There are 2 IAD D8 captains that are very Junior.
10-01-2017, 08:04 AM
#4413
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2016
Posts: 271
It seems that IAD will be the smaller of our two bases and all the growth will be in EWR. I think Air Wisconsin opening a base there was the unofficial announcement stating as much. The problem with that is anyone local to IAD may not want to commute to EWR and will have the option to stay in IAD with another company.
During the CP calls and crew room visits by management, has anyone asked point blank about growth plans for the bases? If so, what has the answer been?
During the CP calls and crew room visits by management, has anyone asked point blank about growth plans for the bases? If so, what has the answer been?
10-01-2017, 08:35 AM
#4414
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2011
Posts: 283
Lots of rumors going around...
Straight from our COO per an August company memo...Take it for what it's worth:
Single Jet Fleet = Accelerated Growth
2016: United 40% Investment & Jet Platform.
Last year we solidified our future by forging a strategic relationship with United. The cornerstones were:
• United’s 40% minority ownership stake in CommutAir, and
• A Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) for 40 Embraer ERJ145 jets.
We then successfully launched the ERJ145’s. And we did that faster than the 3 other operators who undertook similar efforts last year - a testament to the fortitude of all CommutAir employees.
2017- To Date: Prepare for Growth.
This year, we slowed growth to invest in our organization and infrastructure. Most notable was the buildup of Maintenance & Crew Training infrastructure to, one day, handle a triple-digit fleet.
• Today, our Maintenance infrastructure is in good shape and our Crew Training capability continues to improve rapidly.
• In parallel, we’ve built a program to manage the massive workload of returning the 21 Dash-8’s. The Q-300’s are already being returned to the lessors.
Remainder of 2017: Retire ALL Dash-8’s. Replace with ERJ145’s.
Now for some exciting news! Over the past few weeks, your Leadership team has worked with United to:
• Execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to replace the 21 Dash-8’s with the same number of ERJ145’s – i.e. growing our fleet to 61 aircraft.
• Accelerate the retirement of our Dash-8 fleet vs the original plan. We will now retire all Dash-8 aircraft 8 months early - by January 2018. Of course, we will continue to induct ERJ145’s during that time.
2018-2019: Fast ERJ145 Growth to 61 Aircraft.
We plan to accelerate the intake of ERJ145’s to two per month as soon as we retire the Dash-8’s in January 2018. This will triple our fleet through 2019 and allow time to discuss the next phase of our growth with United.
Our Board of Directors and United are fully behind this plan. All our preparations have made us a stronger CommutAir and ready to chase our Vision of “becoming United’s Regional Partner of Choice – Their First Phone Call!”
The following FAQ’s should address some of your questions. In addition, over the next few days, we will arrange conference calls with each employee group to answer any other questions.
FAQ’s
ACCELERATION = BIG JOB! On the surface, accelerated aircraft returns and inductions appear fairly straightforward. However, being able to successfully and rapidly transition out of the Dash-8 will require massive efforts across all functional areas of the Company – maintenance, flight operations, training, human resources & safety. Many of the tasks will be technical in nature (e.g. ensuring all engineering and maintenance documentation is in order for lease returns) and will be opaque to most of us. The end result, however, will be visible to all of us – a more streamlined operation with dramatically improved efficiencies and a 100% focus on inducting and operating the ERJ145’s.
Why are we accelerating the Dash-8 exits Vs doing so gradually?
Either option has its pros and cons. CommutAir and United believe that the faster we achieve single-fleet status, the better we will be positioned for accelerated uptake of confirmed ERJ145’s under contract and be positioned for future growth.
Does this impact our Growth Plans? Absolutely not. Our growth plan for 40 incremental aircraft continues. And we just signed an MOU with United to replace the retiring Dash-8 fleet on a one-for-one basis bringing our baseline fleet total to 61 aircraft over the next 18-24 months.
Is this decision the result of our reliability issues with the Dash-8’s over last winter?
Our extraordinary efforts this winter to maintain reliability of both fleets highlighted the challenge the multi-fleet complexity brought to the organization. This was one of several contributing factors in our decision to accelerate our transition to a single-fleet platform, and we will reap the benefits over the long-term.
Was this mandated by United – how are they viewing this? United is 100% supportive of this decision. As both our minority (40%) investor and the recipient of our capacity, they have a dual interest in CommutAir’s future.
What are the benefits of this acceleration?
Achieving single fleet status in the fastest possible time streamlines our focus and operations. The transition is also being conducted to take advantage of the relatively lower fall/winter demand period.
Will this have any impact on CommutAir (or United’s) route network? Will any stations close? We do not expect this acceleration to have a material impact on United’s network and those stations that currently have exclusive service by our Q-200 are anticipated to have a smooth transition to the ERJ145’s.
Where are the Dash-8’s going? They will be returned to lessors - which are Bank of America (Q-300’s) and Elix Aviation Capital (Q-200’s).
Does this have anything to do with United’s relationship with Air Wisconsin and ExpressJet?
Not as far as we are aware. However, it is in keeping with United’s clear statements about the continued importance of the 50 seat jet in their arsenal, to build a strong defensible route network.
How will you manage the enormous work on returning these Dash-8s in such a short time?
We did it with the ERJ145 entry into service, and we will do it again. Our employees have demonstrated that they are up to it. In fact, we’ve already built a team that is working behind the scenes on the Q-300 returns, and this acceleration eliminates the previous four month gap between Q-300 and Q-200 departures.
What does this mean for CommutAir’s future deliveries? Will we backfill the 21 aircraft departures? What next? After 40 aircraft?
We have a firm commitment for 40 Embraer ERJ145 aircraft with United. These deliveries will take us well into 2018. We just signed a Memorandum of Understanding “MOU” for an additional 21 aircraft – to backfill the departing Dash-8’s. The next step is to convert the MOU into a firm contract.
Isn’t this accelerated retirement a hit to our growth (e.g. seniority) in the short term?
Our total fleet count will continue growing. Versus our original 2017 business plan, we will only be a couple of aircraft behind because the first Q-200’s were to start leaving in late 2017.
However, remember that the turboprops require a higher ratio of spare aircraft to maintain reliability standards and those flying are scheduled about 17% fewer hours than the ERJ145. Therefore, as we accelerate the transition, we will only see a slight drop in overall planned block hours – the primary driver of crew and maintenance staffing. And starting in January, as we accelerate the ERJ145 intake, we will quickly catch up and surpass our fleet and block hour forecasts because of the single fleet simplification and improved operational efficiencies.
Don’t we need to be recruiting in a big way?
Yes. And you will see very visible activity very soon, in every area of the company. For example, every additional aircraft requires about 12 pilots and six flight attendants.
Will we add more crew and maintenance bases?
We are not expecting to add any more bases beyond our current Dulles, Newark, and Albany locations.
How will we manage this crew training exercise without significant disruption and displacement? We have been working hard to plan for this six month effort. We feel quite confident that our training plan will not impact domiciles. In the next few days, we will consult with you and the Unions to ensure that we manage this transition with minimal inconvenience.
Straight from our COO per an August company memo...Take it for what it's worth:
Single Jet Fleet = Accelerated Growth
2016: United 40% Investment & Jet Platform.
Last year we solidified our future by forging a strategic relationship with United. The cornerstones were:
• United’s 40% minority ownership stake in CommutAir, and
• A Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) for 40 Embraer ERJ145 jets.
We then successfully launched the ERJ145’s. And we did that faster than the 3 other operators who undertook similar efforts last year - a testament to the fortitude of all CommutAir employees.
2017- To Date: Prepare for Growth.
This year, we slowed growth to invest in our organization and infrastructure. Most notable was the buildup of Maintenance & Crew Training infrastructure to, one day, handle a triple-digit fleet.
• Today, our Maintenance infrastructure is in good shape and our Crew Training capability continues to improve rapidly.
• In parallel, we’ve built a program to manage the massive workload of returning the 21 Dash-8’s. The Q-300’s are already being returned to the lessors.
Remainder of 2017: Retire ALL Dash-8’s. Replace with ERJ145’s.
Now for some exciting news! Over the past few weeks, your Leadership team has worked with United to:
• Execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to replace the 21 Dash-8’s with the same number of ERJ145’s – i.e. growing our fleet to 61 aircraft.
• Accelerate the retirement of our Dash-8 fleet vs the original plan. We will now retire all Dash-8 aircraft 8 months early - by January 2018. Of course, we will continue to induct ERJ145’s during that time.
2018-2019: Fast ERJ145 Growth to 61 Aircraft.
We plan to accelerate the intake of ERJ145’s to two per month as soon as we retire the Dash-8’s in January 2018. This will triple our fleet through 2019 and allow time to discuss the next phase of our growth with United.
Our Board of Directors and United are fully behind this plan. All our preparations have made us a stronger CommutAir and ready to chase our Vision of “becoming United’s Regional Partner of Choice – Their First Phone Call!”
The following FAQ’s should address some of your questions. In addition, over the next few days, we will arrange conference calls with each employee group to answer any other questions.
FAQ’s
ACCELERATION = BIG JOB! On the surface, accelerated aircraft returns and inductions appear fairly straightforward. However, being able to successfully and rapidly transition out of the Dash-8 will require massive efforts across all functional areas of the Company – maintenance, flight operations, training, human resources & safety. Many of the tasks will be technical in nature (e.g. ensuring all engineering and maintenance documentation is in order for lease returns) and will be opaque to most of us. The end result, however, will be visible to all of us – a more streamlined operation with dramatically improved efficiencies and a 100% focus on inducting and operating the ERJ145’s.
Why are we accelerating the Dash-8 exits Vs doing so gradually?
Either option has its pros and cons. CommutAir and United believe that the faster we achieve single-fleet status, the better we will be positioned for accelerated uptake of confirmed ERJ145’s under contract and be positioned for future growth.
Does this impact our Growth Plans? Absolutely not. Our growth plan for 40 incremental aircraft continues. And we just signed an MOU with United to replace the retiring Dash-8 fleet on a one-for-one basis bringing our baseline fleet total to 61 aircraft over the next 18-24 months.
Is this decision the result of our reliability issues with the Dash-8’s over last winter?
Our extraordinary efforts this winter to maintain reliability of both fleets highlighted the challenge the multi-fleet complexity brought to the organization. This was one of several contributing factors in our decision to accelerate our transition to a single-fleet platform, and we will reap the benefits over the long-term.
Was this mandated by United – how are they viewing this? United is 100% supportive of this decision. As both our minority (40%) investor and the recipient of our capacity, they have a dual interest in CommutAir’s future.
What are the benefits of this acceleration?
Achieving single fleet status in the fastest possible time streamlines our focus and operations. The transition is also being conducted to take advantage of the relatively lower fall/winter demand period.
Will this have any impact on CommutAir (or United’s) route network? Will any stations close? We do not expect this acceleration to have a material impact on United’s network and those stations that currently have exclusive service by our Q-200 are anticipated to have a smooth transition to the ERJ145’s.
Where are the Dash-8’s going? They will be returned to lessors - which are Bank of America (Q-300’s) and Elix Aviation Capital (Q-200’s).
Does this have anything to do with United’s relationship with Air Wisconsin and ExpressJet?
Not as far as we are aware. However, it is in keeping with United’s clear statements about the continued importance of the 50 seat jet in their arsenal, to build a strong defensible route network.
How will you manage the enormous work on returning these Dash-8s in such a short time?
We did it with the ERJ145 entry into service, and we will do it again. Our employees have demonstrated that they are up to it. In fact, we’ve already built a team that is working behind the scenes on the Q-300 returns, and this acceleration eliminates the previous four month gap between Q-300 and Q-200 departures.
What does this mean for CommutAir’s future deliveries? Will we backfill the 21 aircraft departures? What next? After 40 aircraft?
We have a firm commitment for 40 Embraer ERJ145 aircraft with United. These deliveries will take us well into 2018. We just signed a Memorandum of Understanding “MOU” for an additional 21 aircraft – to backfill the departing Dash-8’s. The next step is to convert the MOU into a firm contract.
Isn’t this accelerated retirement a hit to our growth (e.g. seniority) in the short term?
Our total fleet count will continue growing. Versus our original 2017 business plan, we will only be a couple of aircraft behind because the first Q-200’s were to start leaving in late 2017.
However, remember that the turboprops require a higher ratio of spare aircraft to maintain reliability standards and those flying are scheduled about 17% fewer hours than the ERJ145. Therefore, as we accelerate the transition, we will only see a slight drop in overall planned block hours – the primary driver of crew and maintenance staffing. And starting in January, as we accelerate the ERJ145 intake, we will quickly catch up and surpass our fleet and block hour forecasts because of the single fleet simplification and improved operational efficiencies.
Don’t we need to be recruiting in a big way?
Yes. And you will see very visible activity very soon, in every area of the company. For example, every additional aircraft requires about 12 pilots and six flight attendants.
Will we add more crew and maintenance bases?
We are not expecting to add any more bases beyond our current Dulles, Newark, and Albany locations.
How will we manage this crew training exercise without significant disruption and displacement? We have been working hard to plan for this six month effort. We feel quite confident that our training plan will not impact domiciles. In the next few days, we will consult with you and the Unions to ensure that we manage this transition with minimal inconvenience.
10-01-2017, 12:45 PM
#4415
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2014
Posts: 633
10-01-2017, 01:05 PM
#4417
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2016
Posts: 296
Successful means they are flying, duh. It doesn't matter if they are only 60% on time and still cancelling flights that can't be staffed. Mission accomplished!
The question is will performance really get better once they get rid of the one aircraft they somewhat know how to operate? How much effort will they really put into recruiting when the displacements are over?
The question is will performance really get better once they get rid of the one aircraft they somewhat know how to operate? How much effort will they really put into recruiting when the displacements are over?
10-02-2017, 03:33 PM
#4418
New Hire
Joined APC: Oct 2017
Posts: 2
Bull****
Its all massive bull****. Fo’s Are running out the door. The 145’s are as badly maintained as the Dashes were. Its a giant cluster**** and this place is falling apart. Run away as fast as you can. This has turned into a **** hole and it wasn’t fare from one in the first place. What a ****ing joke.I If you are looking for a new job - look somewhere else.
10-02-2017, 04:30 PM
#4419
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2016
Posts: 336
Its all massive bull****. Fo’s Are running out the door. The 145’s are as badly maintained as the Dashes were. Its a giant cluster**** and this place is falling apart. Run away as fast as you can. This has turned into a **** hole and it wasn’t fare from one in the first place. What a ****ing joke.I If you are looking for a new job - look somewhere else.
10-02-2017, 04:32 PM
#4420
New Hire
Joined APC: Oct 2017
Posts: 2
Totally gonna start talking to other carries. Bonus $$? Yup - better work conditions? Yup - maybe a better platform? Yup - no reason to stay here anymore. Place just **** all over us. Management is clueless about the pilot populatiion hating this place. They think its all good and it is SO far from that. I give them 6 months at best. United will tire of this BS and a cut their losses. I know people will have a problem with this post and the hell with them. Its all the truth. Company has no loyalty to their employees at all and couldn’t care less about them so why should anyone care about them? The small company every one is in it together atmosphere is gone.
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