Hello,
I am not an expert, but I think it was only a matter of time before the airlines realized that they could no longer econically operate 50-seat RJs on routes of less than 300 miles. It is going to be interesting to see who bids on these proposals. I can't see Horizon or ASA bidding on the contracts for two distinctly different reasons. Horizon is wholly-owned by Alaska Air Group and their operations are primarily in the west coast and I think that they want to keep it that way. ASA on the other hand has unanswered labor questions, and my understanding is that the ATR was on it's way out, but I think it's been "on-it's-way-out" for 3 years now...Again, I merely speculating why these two companies will probably not bid.
The only airlines that will bid are airlines that are financially leveraged to come up with the capital required to purchase/lease the aircraft. Although, Bombardier/ATR may make the terms on a par with Airbus to get the orders. There are two airlines that come to mind simply because they already have operations in both areas in the RFP; Colgan and Commutair. Both already operate as CAL Connection, and have low-cost operations. It would be in the strategic interest of both of these companies to bid on the contract. If not,
someone else will and may very well run them both out of business in the long-term by expanding into their markets/codeshares offering newer aircraft and a better product.
Airlines and the airline customer will be facing a very different world as we enter the second half of the decade. Airlines will continue to reduce capacity and increase fares as a result of supply and demand. This is the only way that the yields off ticket sales will keep up with $70.00/barrel of oil. This reinforces the theory of modern technology turboprops. The flying public typically doesn't care what they fly on as long as it departs/arrives on time with their luggage. Airline managers need to drop the "seemless service" philosophy of having 100% jet service that typically isn't either seemless or good service.
Regards,
ex-Navy Rotorhead
I am not an expert, but I think it was only a matter of time before the airlines realized that they could no longer econically operate 50-seat RJs on routes of less than 300 miles. It is going to be interesting to see who bids on these proposals. I can't see Horizon or ASA bidding on the contracts for two distinctly different reasons. Horizon is wholly-owned by Alaska Air Group and their operations are primarily in the west coast and I think that they want to keep it that way. ASA on the other hand has unanswered labor questions, and my understanding is that the ATR was on it's way out, but I think it's been "on-it's-way-out" for 3 years now...Again, I merely speculating why these two companies will probably not bid.
The only airlines that will bid are airlines that are financially leveraged to come up with the capital required to purchase/lease the aircraft. Although, Bombardier/ATR may make the terms on a par with Airbus to get the orders. There are two airlines that come to mind simply because they already have operations in both areas in the RFP; Colgan and Commutair. Both already operate as CAL Connection, and have low-cost operations. It would be in the strategic interest of both of these companies to bid on the contract. If not,
someone else will and may very well run them both out of business in the long-term by expanding into their markets/codeshares offering newer aircraft and a better product.
Airlines and the airline customer will be facing a very different world as we enter the second half of the decade. Airlines will continue to reduce capacity and increase fares as a result of supply and demand. This is the only way that the yields off ticket sales will keep up with $70.00/barrel of oil. This reinforces the theory of modern technology turboprops. The flying public typically doesn't care what they fly on as long as it departs/arrives on time with their luggage. Airline managers need to drop the "seemless service" philosophy of having 100% jet service that typically isn't either seemless or good service.
Regards,
ex-Navy Rotorhead
