3XLoser

United, Delta, and USAirways don't care if Bedford competes with them. He's not some renegade outsider who might actually be a threat to their incestuous, price-fixing world. They made him. This is not personal to them. Republic will lose its contracts when someone else bids to do the same flying for a nickel cheaper, which will inevitably happen. The whipsaw is by design. Hardly by free-market.

Some of you are mistaking the lowest bidder for a contract to be subsidized by a trunk line as success. It's not the same. You're still just a tick on a dog. The players of yesterday are stagnant or fading now. Today's players have the same fate. Some other lowest bidder will get its brief moment in the sun next.

What is this thread about, new airplanes? What everyone should be thankful for is that they won't be delivered before seniority integration, or else the Frontier pilots would end up on the street.

Florida Flyer

Good find, AAflyer...and this is from Bombardier itself!

I highlighted two additional sections of your post to illustrate the future of our industry. The reality is that over the next 10-15 years, regional scope will be raised to 100 seats. As Bombarider says, "...regional airlines operating large regional aircraft have proven to be very competitive even compared to LFCs flying larger narrow body aircraft." The pressure for airlines to improve efficiency is enormous, and it is easier to increase efficiencies by outsourcing large regional jet flying to the regionals.

I see a future where mainline aircraft will fly predominately international, transcon, and high volume domestic routes. Most all small to medium sized markets will be serviced by large RJs (70-100 seats), as the markets could be served more efficently by outcourcing to a regional airline (i.e. lower labor costs, newer and more efficient aircraft, etc).

I think most people currently working at regional airlines should get used to the idea that they will most likely spend their entire careers there. To borrow a line from the Borg, "Resistence is Futile." The writing is on the wall. The die has been cast. Large RJs (or whatever you want to call them) are here to stay, and will mostly end up at regional airlines over the next 10-15 years, for the resons Bombarider listed above.

That leaves one currently working at a regional with three basic options: 1) Stick it out at a regional and hope to make it to a shrinking mainline carrier one day; 2) Make plans at staying at your current regional (or make a lateral move to a "better" regional), where you can enjoy the rest of your career; or 3) Just cut your losses now and pull a Sky High and find a new path in life.

Personally, I would like option #1 to happen for me. But realistically, I know option #2 is the most likely to occur. That being said, I would accept 100 seat RJs at regionals with improved working conditions. Personally, I could be satisified flying a 100 seat aircraft at a regional for my career if I had 15+ days off per month, had a commutable schedule, made 50K a year in the right and 90K+ a year in the left, and had a decent health insurance plan. Is that package as glamorous or as rich as a mainline job? No. But it beats what many regionals now offer, and is better than most non-aviation jobs.

My point is simply this: Now that the RJ genie is out of the bottle, we (as regional pilots, anyway) should stop bemoaning the influx of additional large RJs, and start figuring out ways to make our lives more comfortable flying 70+ seat aircraft, since most of us will be doing so for the rest of our careers anyway.

FLEX

Would you accept this hypothetical job at the expense of a mainline pilot? We have to start thinking more about the group as a whole and less about our personal short term ambitions.

exerauflyboy5

Its all fun and games until someone buys them out, kicks all the pilots to the street, and has some other carrier low bid the crap out the of flying and win.

contrail67

For you to even think that the majors will release scope anymore is almost humorous.....the majors are buying the more efficient planes and the mainline pilots WILL be flying anything over current scope language.

JetJock16

Well if Bombardier said it, then it must be true.

Seriously, I agree. Scope will not increase to include 100 seat a/c, but there will be codeshare challenges ahead for mainline pilots. Much like what RAH is doing with Midwest and F9. Regionals will start to morph into their own name branded airlines and in doing so will purchase larger a/c to operate on developing routes in partnership with their trunk carriers. Not every regional airline will have the ability to move toward this new business model but carriers like SkyWest and RAH, who incidentally have already began this transition, will have no problem.

Mainline pilots MUST make this a priority.

dojetdriver

Just a question/hypothetical scenario. We all know that SKW has a huge amount of money in the bank, for a "regional". Like I mentioned prior, BB was able to capitalize on a bit of a unique situation. Acquire/take over 2 carriers (routes/aircraft/reservation systems/ground support/staffing, etc) that were in financial straights. One much more so than the other. And like I mentioned, he got 2 turnkey operations in the process to help expedite the process of building the Republic brand. Albeit under multiple paint jobs and different companies.

I seriously don't see TSA/HK being able to do this. But even with SKW's strong financials, who are they going to merge with/acquire to be able to pull of what BB did?

SharkyBN584

The first paragraph I can totally get behind. The second paragraph will remain to be seen but I think it's pretty well accepted that the current business structure at RAH can't last for long. It seems like this place is too far into trying to do their own thing to save the fee-for-departure flying. Hopefully BB navigates away from SWA/AirTran before it's too late or finds a way to beat them. Remember, SWA wasn't always what they are now. They found a way to succeed and maybe he can too. Who knows...but one thing is for sure...it's a heck of a gamble.

CHQ Pilot

RAH doesn't have much cash on hand...only 350mil of which 190mil is restricted vs 2.8 BILLION in DEBT. Doesn't seem like a good ratio. That and they missed the analysts targets by half (3 cents per share vs the expected 6).

SharkyBN584

Mainline pilots are more equal than regional pilots right?