JohnyChimpo22
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2006
- Posts
- 40
Air Wisconsin Looks To Compete For New Regional Flying
Aviation Daily
09/19/2006, page 15
Lori Ranson
Air Wisconsin's new chief executive plans to immediately start looking for new business from those major carriers who plan to award new flying during the coming months. CEO Jim Rankin, on the job about six weeks, told The DAILY that the carrier is "actively" looking at a number of requests for proposals as well as eying ways to grow its ground-handling business. Rankin joined Air Wisconsin after serving as CEO of Midwest subsidiary Skyway Airlines.
The carrier has been in discussions with brokers about used planes, Rankin said, noting that rates for 50-seat CRJs were attractive and stable. As for ground-handling work, possibilities could exist at both regional and major airlines. It's easier for Air Wisconsin to garner more business at an airport if the carrier is already doing work for an airline serving that location, Rankin noted, because infrastructure is already in place.
Air Wisconsin's new leader also understands the stiff competition among regional airlines vying for new business in terms of cost and quality. "Costs are a major driver in the regional industry," he said. But if a low-cost product doesn't hold up, partners won't be happy, Rankin added.
With 70 planes flying under the US Airways Express banner, Air Wisconsin has good economies of scale, Rankin claimed. He also cited the carrier's favorable engine maintenance costs, noting pilots put a lot of effort into finding ways to reduce wear on engines. The company's maintenance group also does a lot of preventive maintenance. Air Wisconsin has an exclusive maintenance deal with MTU, and the company should perform work on the first engine this month.
The carrier started transitioning planes from United to US Airways Express in August 2005. Rankin said the East Coast operations are a bit tighter and generally face more congestion than Air Wisconsin's United Express flying primarily from Denver and Chicago, so the airline wants to have the resources to run the operation well. The carrier is looking to improve crew utilization and in-house scheduling.
Rankin said the carrier's 14% drop in August capacity year-over-year was a result of the BAe 146 program winding down. Previously, Air Wisconsin flew 17 of the planes as United Express.
Rankin also said the CRJ-900 was a good platform, and Air Wisconsin might have an interest in flying the plane, highlighting the advantage of the plane's commonality with the CRJ-700. -LR
American Express made the following
annotations on 09/19/06, 12:30:34
Aviation Daily
09/19/2006, page 15
Lori Ranson
Air Wisconsin's new chief executive plans to immediately start looking for new business from those major carriers who plan to award new flying during the coming months. CEO Jim Rankin, on the job about six weeks, told The DAILY that the carrier is "actively" looking at a number of requests for proposals as well as eying ways to grow its ground-handling business. Rankin joined Air Wisconsin after serving as CEO of Midwest subsidiary Skyway Airlines.
The carrier has been in discussions with brokers about used planes, Rankin said, noting that rates for 50-seat CRJs were attractive and stable. As for ground-handling work, possibilities could exist at both regional and major airlines. It's easier for Air Wisconsin to garner more business at an airport if the carrier is already doing work for an airline serving that location, Rankin noted, because infrastructure is already in place.
Air Wisconsin's new leader also understands the stiff competition among regional airlines vying for new business in terms of cost and quality. "Costs are a major driver in the regional industry," he said. But if a low-cost product doesn't hold up, partners won't be happy, Rankin added.
With 70 planes flying under the US Airways Express banner, Air Wisconsin has good economies of scale, Rankin claimed. He also cited the carrier's favorable engine maintenance costs, noting pilots put a lot of effort into finding ways to reduce wear on engines. The company's maintenance group also does a lot of preventive maintenance. Air Wisconsin has an exclusive maintenance deal with MTU, and the company should perform work on the first engine this month.
The carrier started transitioning planes from United to US Airways Express in August 2005. Rankin said the East Coast operations are a bit tighter and generally face more congestion than Air Wisconsin's United Express flying primarily from Denver and Chicago, so the airline wants to have the resources to run the operation well. The carrier is looking to improve crew utilization and in-house scheduling.
Rankin said the carrier's 14% drop in August capacity year-over-year was a result of the BAe 146 program winding down. Previously, Air Wisconsin flew 17 of the planes as United Express.
Rankin also said the CRJ-900 was a good platform, and Air Wisconsin might have an interest in flying the plane, highlighting the advantage of the plane's commonality with the CRJ-700. -LR
American Express made the following
annotations on 09/19/06, 12:30:34
