ASA Bid for Jets

[Freebrd]

ASA Factored Higher Pilot Pay In Successful Delta Bid

05/04/2004


Pay rates most likely won't be the first discussion topic when pilots and
management at Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) resume contracts talks today,
but airline executives factored higher salaries in their bid that ultimately
led ASA to capture the bulk of Delta Connection regional jet flying for the
next two years.


Delta awarded ASA 25 of 45 planes, with deliveries slated to start in the first
quarter of 2005 (DAILY, March 3).


"We would have not been correct if we had gone forward and not forecast some
increase in pilot compensations," ASA President Skip Barnette recently told The
DAILY at the carrier's Atlanta headquarters. "We had to realistically project
there would be some sort of increase in that."


Barnette explained one important issue in the bidding process was "what we were
going to commit to Delta from a block-hour cost [perspective] to fly these
airplanes, and so we put forth a bid that we thought was going to be very
competitive, and as it turned out, it was."


ASA's management also worked hard to explain to employees how important the
extra flying was to the carrier's future, Barnette said. "It was simple
mathematics that our growth was scheduled to end at the end of 2004," he
explained. "With no growth our company matures. We all mature up the pay scale.
Growth provides a backfill for those people moving up the pay scale, and the
people coming in at the lower pay scale over time does allow you to reduce your
unit costs."


Barnette credited Bombardier for making the CRJ-200 competitive in the
ownership element of the deal. "The ownership piece with Embraer had pretty
much been established," he explained. Delta awarded Chautauqua 13 more Embraer
ERJs (DAILY, March 3). "That ownership piece was probably more attractive than
Bombardier's ownership costs. Fortunately Bombardier stepped up to the table
and made the CRJ-200 a highly competitive platform with the ERJ," Barnette
said. Although he couldn't give details about the aircraft financing, he did
note, "There is no capital outlay on Delta's part or our part for the
airplanes."


Barnette said some of the carrier's recent growth came from Delta's downsizing,
either through ASA supplementing operations or completely replacing Delta in
other markets. "That can't continue for very long," Barnette said. "What has to
take place through 2005, where our growth is pretty much stable, is Delta needs
to deal with its cost structure so they can put together a fairly strategic
plan of growth." When that happens ASA could snap back to the growth patterns
in adopted in 2000 and 2001, Barnette said.

 

[asacap]

Obviously! Thanks for posting this article anyway. I, and most ASA pilots expect a considerable raise. Comair +.
Not just a few percent also. Don't forget improvements in every section of the Comair contract to go with it, Skippy.

 

[sweptback]

Well, this article settles two long-running flightinfo discussions:

The CRJ is just as cheap as the ERJ when you buy them in bulk. Maybe if you buy 1 or 2 at a time you won't get a good rate, but you better believe DCI is getting Bombardier's best prices cause they're the largest customer. If the ERJ was seriously 20% cheaper or whatever the people seem to think on here, don't you think ASA/Comair would have switched a long, long time ago? That percentage savings would pay for a lot of the retraining costs, and I bet Embraer would have helped with that too. List prices mean nothing, boys and girls.

Also, these airplane's aren't costing ASA or Delta a capital outlay. So, please no more about how DL isn't profitable because they're spending all this money on new CRJs. Sure, there's debt involved, but if ASA/Comair is making a profit (and they are, I've heard SB personally say that ASA makes a 9% profit margin), they've got the debt covered with revenue.

 

[norskman2]

The CRJ is just as cheap as the ERJ when you buy them in bulk. Maybe if you buy 1 or 2 at a time you won't get a good rate, but you better believe DCI is getting Bombardier's best prices cause they're the largest customer. If the ERJ was seriously 20% cheaper or whatever the people seem to think on here, don't you think ASA/Comair would have switched a long, long time ago? That percentage savings would pay for a lot of the retraining costs, and I bet Embraer would have helped with that too. List prices mean nothing, boys and girls.

I remember when NWA made their big CRJ order several years back, they looked extensively at the ERJ, but said that despite the lower sticker price, the cost of the C checks was going to be considerably more for the ERJ than the CRJ, enough to more than wipe out the advantage of the lower initial cost.

 

[sleepy]

I'm glad we didn't give them any concessions to get this growth. Wouldn't we look stupid now if we had done it, then Shippy put out the word that they had actually figured a pay raise into our winning bid.

Never trust any airline management!

 

[Bizjet]

I'm glad we didn't give them any concessions to get this growth. Wouldn't we look stupid now if we had done it, then Shippy put out the word that they had actually figured a pay raise into our winning bid.

Never trust any airline management!

I know where they could have gotten about 50 million in concessions. But management doesn't take money from their own. Say NO to concessions unless management gives back all they have pilfered. Lets start with Leo and work down to Skippy.

Don't forget--we're 17 and will defend our last place position to the death!

 

[ifly4food]

And that's exactly what the ASA MEC did. Management wanted our pilots to leave negotiations for a year, then start over. This surely would have been followed by a pay cut proposal once we were out from under the protections od Section VI of the RLA.

Our MEC held a joint meeting with the Comair MEC told the company to put the planes wherever they wanted them, and that we wouldn't participate in the race to the bottom by bidding for jets. This meeting also produced the merger resolutions.

I'm glad our MEC made this decision, especially in light of the fact that Skip basically admitted in this article that he lied to our MEC when he said ASA pilots weren't competetive unless we locked in a pay rate then.

More management lies uncovered...

 

[AFELLOWAVIATOR]

These people are so full oh shi t they smell. That interview was a poor attempt to make us all think they were not a bunch of liars. Those airplanes will go where they intended them to go from the beginning. There was no "bid". If all this was true, Skywhore would be getting all the 700's, and Mesa would be flying a bunch of 200's.

 

[Mookie]

"Skywhore"????

Jeez, don't know why Comair/ASA got the cold shoulder in SLC in the crew lounge.

Quick question though...if all of you guys cry about scope and stuff with Delta/DALPA, how is than any different than the scope that limits other DCI carrriers to 50 seats???? not trying to flame or anyting...awww b.s. I am trying to flame.

peace my DCI brothers,
Mookie