35 RJ's for ASA?

[e120pilot]

Just curious if anyone else has heard this rumor. A bunch of our instructors have been saying this is the number we'll get from the RFP. Just about every rumor I've heard seems to be saying either 30 or 35 CRJ-200s for ASA. If anyone else has heard this, let's hear it! Either way, a decision will probably have to come pretty soon.

 

[bailout]

Interesting too, is someone on another board posted that a concourse in LAX has been completely refurbished in Deltas colors but sits empty. Hmm, Awaiting whoever gets the new jets for sure. Maybe an LA base for someone!

 

[General Lee]

I think there has been discussion about that, and I think they are looking at another pay cut offer (a larger % cut), but I am not privy to those direct talks or elections of the new negotiators. My source says the percentages have been raised, but not to 30%. We shall see.......

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[sleepy]

Yes, 35 aircraft and a BOS base for ASA. That is what they are saying. I'll believe it when I see it.

The only part that makes any sense is that they would give us a crappy base like BOS instead of LAX or SLC.

What MEC meeting are you talking about?

 

[DDpaysoff]

[
The only part that makes any sense is that they would give us a crappy base like BOS instead of LAX or SLC.

[/B]

Hey, three crappy bases are better than one shi.tty base. Just kidding. Anyway, I will be very happy if all 45 stay w/in DCI W/O, regardless of how many we get at CMR, which sounds like zero.
BTW, has hiring resumed for you guys?

 

[ALPO II]

You guys are all wrong, here comes Mesa

 

[bailout]

>>Yes, 35 aircraft and a BOS base for ASA. That is what they are saying.<<

Thats funny, I havent heard that one at all. As far as IPs go, they are usually the LAST to know any new info. All they do is spread/start rumors.

 

[shamrock]

The only part that makes any sense is that they would give us a crappy base like BOS instead of LAX or SLC.

So I don't have to worry about you bidding it and getting in ahead of me then, right? Hopefully everyone else at ASA will be of the same opinion as you if (yes, I know, wishful thinking) the BOS thing ever happens.

ATL blows and I don't want to be anywhere near the uniform nazi at DFW (my nametag and wings are 1/4" too close too each other ) so BOS would be a welcome option for me.

 

[storminpilot]

Heard same rumor: 35, if not all 45 jets to ASA

So that would mean Comair gets the other prize - 30 DOJets from ACA?

 

[sleepy]

I was just kidding. Any new base or new growth would be great for ASA. They would probably have to displace people to fill a BOS base (not a cheap place to live on ASA pay). I will be really surprised if we get any of these phantom aircraft (being in the middle of contract talks and some of the stuff I have read from financial types) but who knows.

I would make more sense to put them at ASA or Comair. We have the lowest CASM in the DCI portfolio, and if we fly them 100% of the profits go to DAL.

The mainline folks over on ALPA are saying the GG wants to return DAL to the glory days of a full service airline. They are saying that one of us, ASA or Comair, will be sold-off.

 

[~~~^~~~]

I think there has been discussion about that, and I think they are looking at another pay cut offer (a larger % cut), but I am not privy to those direct talks or elections of the new negotiators. My source says the percentages have been raised, but not to 30%. We shall see.......

Bye Bye--General Lee

General: I heard the same rumor, but it was denied by several status representatives who said the plan was to tell Delta to "pound sand" until the amenable date of C2K.

I responded by buying Airtran at $11.11 - we will see how I do this time. Delta is an obvious short play until ALPA wakes up and as Johnny Cochran says, "you call this an alarm clock, I call it alarmingly inaccurrate..."

~~~^~~~

 

[DDpaysoff]

I responded by buying Airtran at $11.11 - we will see how I do this time. Delta is an obvious short play until ALPA wakes up and as Johnny Cochran says, "you call this an alarm clock, I call it alarmingly inaccurrate..."

~~~^~~~

Good luck w/ aai. As far as DAL goes, if you look at the three month chart a perfect head and shoulders formation appeared w/ high volume when stock went below the neckline around 11.00. However, as always there will be a correction which I am looking for any day now, if you are short you had better take a good look at the 3M chart or you could get shaken out.
Shorts are diving in right now. I just can't short the company that signs my checks, something ethical about it. But, I plan on loading up long just waiting for the right price ahead of news. DALPA and the company will post some kind of bad news making it look like a deal is dead, the stock will drop on that news and then correct itself on no news. That correction will be pilots in the know and other insiders. Load up on that correction. This is a great play for the patient long.

Unless of course there is an IPO in the future for CMR. I must admit there is a possibility of a spin-off on one of us. With 12.5 Billion in debt on Balance sheet, DAL will be heavily impacted when interest rates rise and may need the cash to keep interest expense at a manageable level. I am not saying there is a correlation here, but If you were going to spin off a subsidiary it would make sense to spin off the one w/ the most debt, i.e. 45 a/c. See DYN. Scary huh?
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[~~~^~~~]

The thing about an IPO of CMR or ASA is the potential for loss of operational control. For example if ASA went on the market and AirTran got control, AAI would have all of C, most of D, a more profitable operation and simultaneously Delta would go into serious negative numbers as the critical feed went into AAI jets.

A full eighty percent of ASA's pax get on a Delta mainline jet. This represents about 15 to 20% of Delta's load factor, more on international flights.

The way I see it, Delta must maintain operational control of the kingmaker at the Atlanta airport.

 

[vc10]

The thing about an IPO of CMR or ASA is the potential for loss of operational control. For example if ASA went on the market and AirTran got control, AAI would have all of C, most of D, a more profitable operation and simultaneously Delta would go into serious negative numbers as the critical feed went into AAI jets.

An IPO would be structured to eliminate the chance of any such thing. Were ASA to be IPO'd, it would come with a 10 or 15-year iron-clad contract under which it would work for Delta. Further, chances are, Delta would continue to control all ASA's aircraft and lease them to ASA (as Continental does with ExpressJet and NWA with Pinnacle).

If one of these puppies is to be IPO'd, it would make sense to give that one the growth, so that it looks good when it comes to market.

Alternately, the could simply spin one off to existing Delta shareholders. Own 10 Delta shares? Get one ASA share. Voila, two companies.

 

[DDpaysoff]

We could speculate all day on which sub would be spun off, w/out getting into x's and o's let me put it this way:
When CMR was purchased for 2 BILLION dollars Leo was CEO and Grinstein was on the board, now Grinstien is CEO an Leo is o the board. How much confidence do you think the shareholders would have in this group if they spun off an airline they just payed 2 billion dollars for a couple of years ago. The correct political move would be to spin off ASA. Again, I don't think this is in the plans right now, but it is a possibility in the quarters to come as DAL's cash gets closer to 1 billion.
History showed us that DAL pulled a lot of flying from SLC and then sold their stake in SKYW. Kind of like what is happening in DFW as we speak, a place where ASA just happens to be growing like crazy.
Can history repeat itself? Something to think about.

 

[embraerdriver]

Not to burst your bubbles but I heard from a little birdy, an MEC birdy, that CHQ is getting 35 and Mesa 10............No I'm not kidding!

But why speculate...we will see.

All The Best

 

[GFunk20]

Yeah I also heard Chautauqua will get 25-30 of the RJs.

 

[ASApuppy]

Heard straight from Skip's mouth: DCI is not happy with the operational performance of the ERJ. The RFP is for CRJ's and has been stated as such from day one. Delta has already aquired 400 options with Bombardier. That purchasing power far exceeds Chit-taco's.

Of course, this does not mean Chit-taco could not get CRJ's, but I highly doubt that. My belief is that DALPA will step up to the plate if Mesa is brought in to the mix. From all the rumors I here, it seems that ALPA National may not be the best friend to the non wholly-owned. And in the case of Skywest and Chit-taco, they aren't even represented by ALPA. Makes for easy targets with no repercussions, ie RJDC.

 

[mesa rocks]

why don't you ask the UsAir wholly owneds if ALPA is more friendly to them with regards to the contractors (mesa).

I haven't heard anything personally but, I wouldn't be surprised if we were thrown into the mix.

I wouldn't put much faith in DALPA stepping up to the plate for the connection carriers. There being leaned on pretty hard right now and everything is negotiable. I have a feeling that little clause could be the first thing that goes in order to save more important things like pay and retirement.

 

[embraerdriver]

stay off the porch puppy..........

the one thing they might not be happy with is the operational performance of the WO!(ie completion and on time-you suck in that department)

Wanna Bet?

 

[Stifler's Mom]

Check your info EmbDriver. Some creative block adjustments took care of your case regarding on time performance (#6 last month)...and completion factor has improved as well.

 

[N813CA]

This came from an IP who heard it from a "big wig" in ASA Flight Ops. It appears Delta has asked ACA to close down their BOS base and start transferring the Dojets to CVG. This is so CMR can take possession of the airplanes come fall when ACA takes delivery of their first A319. ASA will get 30 of the "RFP birds" and Chautauqua will get the rest and build up the northeast. I also have been talking to the head of our scheduling committee and he has told me that we (DCI) are no where near the cap for 50 seat and less flying, plenty of room left. I think there are lots of good things to come!

We are down to 1,548 pilots on the 1-05-04 seniority list (latest DoH is 1-02-03). This means we should be hiring about 200 pilots over the next year just to keep up with the aircraft we have now and the 13 more CRJ700's we are getting this year. If the rumor above is true then we will need about another 300 more pilots for a grand total of 500 New Hires in the next 2-3 years, however, I bet we may see more than that.

 

[JetPilot_Mike]

stay off the porch puppy..........

the one thing they might not be happy with is the operational performance of the WO!(ie completion and on time-you suck in that department)

Wanna Bet?

Well if we flew as little as you guys did in the nice, warm, sunny weather of Florida, then it would be a different story. Try dealing with the weather in the Northeast, or the delays in Atlanta, flying coast to coast with one pilot base. MCO-RSW isn't that tough.

 

[crjdxr]

stay off the porch puppy..........

the one thing they might not be happy with is the operational performance of the WO!(ie completion and on time-you suck in that department)

Wanna Bet?

Bring that Jungle Jet into the northeast AND ATL and see how you do. That A14 is gonna is gonna go down the toilet faster than week old White Castle.

 

[embraerdriver]

I'm talking about our entire system not just MCO. LGA, PHL, and for all three codeshares.

Fact: I read the printed sheets in the ramper crew room next to ops and it's always CHQ, and SKW on top. This is not my opinion, this is fact.

Sorry if the truth hurts but the fact is we run better numbers consistently week in and week out with 3 codeshares, 8 bases and without any adjustments from mother DAL, USA, or AAL!

I for one will not gain anything by CHQ getting any more airplanes(personally- as I am already a captain). I do want the growth as everyone does but only for those I work with. So they may upgrade quicker.

Anyway, we will see right?

 

[sleepy]

Anybody can run an on-time airline if they do not have to operate out of ATL. Put Scumwest or Chitaco in ATL, and watch their performance numbers fall.

Whenever I leave ATL, my flights always run on-time. When I get back to ATL at the end of a three day trip, it takes 20 minutes to get parked because the rampers are hiding somewhere. It never fails.

 

[crjdxr]

http://www.delta.com/travel/maps_guides/dest_maps/dst_com/index.jsp

http://www.delta.com/travel/maps_guides/dest_maps/dst_asa/index.jsp

http://www.delta.com/travel/maps_guides/dest_maps/dsa_chautauqua/index.jsp


How are your operating statistics for your USAirways side?

 

[ASApuppy]

The operational performance I was refering to was load capability. Lets face it, in this portfolio concept, it does not matter who you fly for, we are all at the mercy of the ramp. Granted ASA runs ATL ramp, but the result would be the same no matter who ran it. You just can't stuff 20 pounds of the brown stuff in a 5 pound bag with the bottom blown out.

Back to my point... I would bet the bean counters would rather a plane leave late than leave revenue off of it. The point is simply that the CRJ carries more revenue for the same relative cost. EMB recognized this and had to sell them cheap and hit the drawing boards. The EMB-170 is an improvement over the CRJ-700. When you start with a clean sheet of paper, you can design to your goal, but when derivatives are involved, your hands are tied to old numbers. I would be really shocked it the result of the RFP had 15 EMB jets in it. I would be shocked, albiet less, if CHQ got 15 CRJ's.

 

[sleepy]

Customer satisfaction continues to climb

Customers are more satisfied with ASA than at any time in recent history, according to research conducted last fall by The Gallup Organization. Phone interviews with 1,500 customers indicated that 61 percent of fliers were either "extremely" or "very" satisfied with their most recent experiences on ASA, compared to 50 percent during the same period in 2002. Adding customers who said they were simply "satisfied," satisfaction scores climbed to 91 percent for 2003 and 86 percent for 2002.

"Extremely" and "very" satisfied ratings also improved for on-time arrivals (77 percent), helpfulness of flight attendants (83 percent), helpfulness of check-in agents (77 percent), the manner in which passengers were kept informed at the gate (74 percent), and the condition of aircraft interiors (73 percent).

Last fall's scores represent a continuing improvement trend since Gallup began polling ASA customers in early 2001. When compared against the first quarter of polling, today's customer satisfaction scores are up by nearly 20 percent.


ASA fares well in latest DOT consumer report
ASA's December 2003 performance fared well in the Department of Transportation's (DOT) latest report card for the nation's 18 largest airlines, including a fourth-place ranking for on-time arrivals.

ASA posted on-time arrivals of 79.6 percent, completion factor of 97.6 percent, mishandled baggage at 17.7 bags per 1,000 passengers and denied boardings at 5.84 customers per 10,000.

The company's December numbers met or exceeded all internal goals, with denied boardings reaching their lowest level since ASA entered the DOT report last spring. Additionally, ASA's December baggage handling scores represent a 45 percent improvement over the same period last year

Responding to the report, ASA President Skip Barnette said, "ASA continues to show remarkable improvement every month in all DOT measurements, reflecting the efforts under way all across the company to provide customers the levels of reliability and service they expect. The significant improvements we posted in 2003 are only the beginning of our ambitious trek to operational excellence at ASA."

I guess we are not so bad after all.

 

[JetPilot_Mike]

I'm talking about our entire system not just MCO. LGA, PHL, and for all three codeshares.

Fact: I read the printed sheets in the ramper crew room next to ops and it's always CHQ, and SKW on top. This is not my opinion, this is fact.

Sorry if the truth hurts but the fact is we run better numbers consistently week in and week out with 3 codeshares, 8 bases and without any adjustments from mother DAL, USA, or AAL!

The numbers that compare CHQ to the other DCI's doesn't take into account your other codeshares.