ACA Helped or Hurt by UAL Bankruptcy?

[AlphEcho]

Do any of you more experienced pilots have any ideas on how United's regionals will be affected if UAL goes chapter 11? I would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[ClassG]

I don't know first hand, but have been told by friends at Air Wisconsin, that most everything mainline United cuts back on will end up covered in some way or another by an "express" RJ.

United will continue to shrink while the regionals continue to grow. Someone still has to get the people where they want to go, and if the contract carriers are willing to take over the routes, what would stop a bankrupt United from contracting it out further?

 

[AlphEcho]

That's what my buddies have been telling me too and it sounds logical, but I'm sure there's more to it. It probably depends on the degree of UAL's shrinkage or restructuring. Either way, any time people are thrown out of work it's not a good situation, at least for them and theirs, and I wish all at UA the best of luck.

Is there anyone else who sees this situation differently, as far as how the regionals will be affected?

 

[Please Hire Me]

United will continue to shrink while the regionals continue to grow...........

Does that mean this may be a good thing for us low timers????

 

[MINIME]

UAL has stated that it will keep flying its routes. However, as time goes and the code shares get new aircraft, it is almost innevitable that a lot of the flying will be shifted in order to cut costs and try to re-emerge from Chapt. 11. The only downside that I think could happen but highly unlikely is that UAL might try to renegotiate compensation to those codeshares.(cost plus a smaller percentage per A/C) Who knows!!! As sad as it sounds however, the codeshares can only benefit in my humble opinion.

 

[BlueRidger]

I would not expect a whole lot more RJ's for the 3 UAX carriers beyond what is already ordered (about 243). Air Wis and SkyWest have some conditional orders which may become firm orders. ACA has the lions share of RJ orders at 121 with some 69 already in service. What I expect to see is that ACA will take the rest of its orders and possibly a few extra based on some wiggle room in the total and conditional orders. The biggest change will be UAL turning stations over to the UAX carriers. Stations like Greensboro NC and Pittsburg, PA will be turned over to ACA. (Greensboro has the best UAL employees in the UAL system and I do not wish this on them). ACA likely will lose some of it smaller destinations as well such as Newburg, NY and State College, PA. Remember UAL still controls where we go.

The real question is will UAL renegotiate the UAX carriers contracts. Right now Sky West and ACA make about 13% on their contracts where as Mesa and Chautauqua only make about 3-4%. It is in the intrest of the UAX carriers to keep the current contract and possibly not grow as much to maintain this nice profit margin. However a bankruptcy judge might think it would be better to renegotiate those contracts. If those contracts are abrogated then it is anybodies guess what the outcome will be.

The other side of the coin is if UAL dissolves its pilots' contract then the scope clause is dead and the door is open to more RJ's and possibly larger airplanes like the CRJ700 and CRJ900. In that case the UAX carriers are in a good position to capitalize on this. Of course they need to get the financing for any new airplanes which is a whole other story.

 

[surfnole]

One of my friends got hired by ACA a couple of months ago. He told me that as part of the United pilot's concessions, some sort of scope was forced upon ACA. ACA management explained that he should not expect the growth and advancement at the airline that he once expected.

 

[ClassG]

OK, but in bankruptcy, the agreements between the labor groups and management will have no value. Management will be able to do whatever (they say) is necessary to save the airline. If that includes subbing-out the mainline routes to the UAX's in order to sell tickets that say UNITED in planes that say UNITED, what's going to stop them?

 

[j41driver]

...Pittsburg, PA...

It's Pittsburgh NOT Pittsburg! Get with the times, BlueRidger!

 

[JohnDoe]

ClassG:

"OK, but in bankruptcy, the agreements between the labor groups and management will have no value. Management will be able to do whatever (they say) is necessary to save the airline. "



I don't think that is entirely true......It's what the JUDGE decides, not UAL management.

US Airways is in bankruptcy, is their pilot's contract null and void??

 

[DoinTime]

US Airways is in bankruptcy, is their pilot's contract null and void??

Not yet.

It can never be a good thing to have your only, or nearly your only, supplier of income go bankrupt. Think about the stress it would put on your company if United was allowed by bankruptcy judges to default on some of your contract payments. Worse yet is that if the United pilots come up with a J4J protocol for any additional flying going to the regionals or start their own certificate for added RJ flying.