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Skyway's last day

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WillFlyFoCookie

WillFlyFoCookie

On Wisconsin
Joined
Jun 23, 2004
Posts
104
Is the shutdown day for flight operations still April 5th (Saturday)? Will there be any kind of ceremony or anything? Be interesting to be there for the last flight. Good luck to all my former coworkers.

I also heard that the big group of Skyway people that were going to be in class at AirTran are now postponed for a while. Will they all just collect unemployment for a few months until AirTran has the class?

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone effected by this shutdown of Skyway.
 
Sorry to hear about the AT class guys, hopefully you'll get started asap. Your welcome on a ASA jumpseat anytime commuting to ATL. Good luck
 
Not a single reduced thrust takeoff on the 5th. Enjoy the ride while you can.
Good luck to All Skyways guys.
I will see a lot of you in training at Compass.
 
I didn't do a single reduced thrust takeoff in the last month. There is a ceremony on Saturday afternoon at the airport from 230-530 as the last Jet and Beech flight arrives. The last 328 flight arrives around 3 from GRB and the Beech arrives sometime after that.

The majority of Skyway guys that got jobs at AirTran are now essentially out of luck for the time being. The only class that is still on is April 7th. There are around 8-10 Skyway guys in the class. Everybody else is trying to find something else until their class is recalled. Many several guys got jobs back with Compass however they sacrificed about a month or two of senority because of it. Tough time to be looking for a job.
 
I know there are a few charter operators flying Dornier 328Jets (sports and concert charters). Have Skyway pilots had any luck getting on with those charter operators?
 
Lots of good memories. I doubt I'll ever fly another aircraft that has that much power. 'Hot' silver boots. Uber-sponson. East coast speed bump at .66.

The end of another small story in aviation. We weren't much in the grand scheme, but it sure was a fun ride. Good luck to those that have hung until the end.

Keith (99-07)
 
Good Luck to everyone!


Has Midwest Express taken anyone??? Seems like they would try and hire as many as they could.
 
WSurf said:
Good Luck to everyone!


Has Midwest Express taken anyone??? Seems like they would try and hire as many as they could.
Click to expand...

Wasn't Midwest furloughing?
 
Hope you guys have great last trips with tailwinds and smooth skies.

Best of luck!!!
 
Jetjockey said:
Wasn't Midwest furloughing?
Click to expand...

There were some good rumors back in Dec. but nothing happened. Depending on who you asked it was between 16 and 60.

BTW- Midwest did take quite a few from Skyway. Even when Skyway was short staffed. And they had no rhyme or reason to the ones they took.
 
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As a Skyway person (non-pilot) from 2002-2007, I'm still salty about how this all went down. The writing was on the wall the day DR came back.

I was fortunate to bail out of that organization a few months before the announcement, but I have nothing but best wishes for the many friends I had there.

April 5 is going to be a sad day for MKE. It's a perfect example of how venal, incompetent management (at both the Skyway and MEH executive levels) can ruin what was a superb little airline.
 
Shutdown...

I swear the 328Jet is cursed... I was fuloughed off it from ACA in 2003, now my cousin is in 2008.... dang... what an industry....
 
Sorry guys.........too bad MEH shot down Airtran's offers. Under that plan you'd all still be around.

Best of luck, I've been there!
 
Seeing how AirTran is stopping some orders for airplanes now, it would have been real interesting to see how things would have been had they aquired Midwest. Gas guzzling 80s and 717s that even they don't really seem to want. Even though I'd like to think so, there is no way they would have kept Skyway around but perhaps would have taken more Skyway pilots on board. Guess we will never know.
 
Enjoy the ride while you can.



I think the last 328 flight for PSA was about 2 hours late because the last two captains were fighting as to who would fly the last flight.
 
Last flight

Damn, I wish I wasn't going to be out of town, or I'd be there for that last flight. Any chance of a "go around" which might accidentally look like fly-by on that last arrival?
 
piav8r said:
I swear the 328Jet is cursed... I was fuloughed off it from ACA in 2003, now my cousin is in 2008.... dang... what an industry....
Click to expand...

I think it may have something to do with our family luck as well ;)

Jerky I agree, a "flyby" would be nice. However, I'm just dissapointed we didn't get to ferry them anywhere, I was looking forward to flying it in a tshirt, shorts and flip-flops. Oh well.
 
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Captainjerky said:
Damn, I wish I wasn't going to be out of town, or I'd be there for that last flight. Any chance of a "go around" which might accidentally look like fly-by on that last arrival?
Click to expand...

The only thing I never liked- the two-engine go around.

PF- Go around, max power, flaps 20
PNF- Uh, ASAP
PF- Huh?
PNF- Uh, we're at 5, we were cleared to 3, and that loud noise is us doing 220 with the flaps down.
PF- @#$%
 
For Love of the Dork

Yeah, that plane really only did a handful of things well, but one of them was to climb like a rocket powered bat out of hell.
Personal best was 4500 fpm off the runway and 8200 fpm enroute...
Any word on what Skyway's going to do with the ones they own? I heard from the guys at Myrtle Beach that they were selling refurbished 328 jets for 3-4 million a year or to back when I went to pick up one of ACA's planes from there. Can't touch a Citation CJ2 for that price... I am surprised it never made a bigger impact as a corporate aircraft.
 
I know at least 1 is going to somebody in Canada however the majority of them I think will be parked for a bit. Word on the street is there is some sort of legal battle going on as to the ownership/lease of the airplanes. Haven't heard where the Beech's are going. Think they were going to be purchased by Great Lakes when they picked up the EAS routes but that has all fallen through.
 
Captainjerky said:
I heard from the guys at Myrtle Beach that they were selling refurbished 328 jets for 3-4 million a year or to back when I went to pick up one of ACA's planes from there. Can't touch a Citation CJ2 for that price... I am surprised it never made a bigger impact as a corporate aircraft.
Click to expand...

The Dorkjet is a good airplane, but to compare it to a CJ-series aircraft is foolish...

A CJ2+ burns around 1100pph the first hour, 750ish every hour after that. It flies faster (410kts) and farther (1500nm) than the Dornier at a fraction of the direct operating cost. Obviously, the Dork has a much larger cabin and more baggage space.

The Dornier is a great shuttle aircraft and seems to be getting even more popular with 91 and 135 operators...but unless you have a LARGE hangar (by bizjet standards) and a need to haul 20-30 people around it simply doesn't compare to a CJ.
 
BoilerUP said:
The Dorkjet is a good airplane, but to compare it to a CJ-series aircraft is foolish...

A CJ2+ burns around 1100pph the first hour, 750ish every hour after that. It flies faster (410kts) and farther (1500nm) than the Dornier at a fraction of the direct operating cost. Obviously, the Dork has a much larger cabin and more baggage space.

The Dornier is a great shuttle aircraft and seems to be getting even more popular with 91 and 135 operators...but unless you have a LARGE hangar (by bizjet standards) and a need to haul 20-30 people around it simply doesn't compare to a CJ.
Click to expand...

That's exactly my point. While it's not for everyone, there would seem to be a niche market that the airplane would be perfect for. So yes, it's slower and slightly shorter-legged than a CJ, but it's much bigger and in my experience with it is a pretty tough plane. (no basis for comparison, never flew a CJ)
I was simply stating that for direct purchase cost, you could get a plane that would seat 10-15 in great comfort (32 in relative comfort), is certified to transport category standards, and has top of the line avionics. Or you could get something much smaller, a bunch faster, that burns probably something like half the fuel per hour.
Either way, it's a moot point until I win the Powerball or something, then maybe I'll buy one of each, eh? Or I saw a B-25 on Ebay once that seemed like a good deal...
 
We'll see some of your Skyways guys on the line at Avantair. We are still looking for people, too (for now, anyway). When one door closes, another opens. Welcome aboard!
 

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