CommuteAir to buy QX Q200's?

[shamrock]

[CA1900]Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

You've been flying that plane WAAAAYYYY too long, Beavis!

Did you get so bored making Darth Vader sounds through the O2 mask and railroad crossing sounds on the trim wheel that you started studying?

 

[PropPiedmont]

Maybe a starving FO died on the flight deck and slid behind the rudder pedals or something.

 

[CA1900]

You've been flying that plane WAAAAYYYY too long, Beavis!

Did you get so bored making Darth Vader sounds through the O2 mask and railroad crossing sounds on the trim wheel that you started studying?

Ha! Never!

I learn where things are when I break them.

 

[ReverseSensing]

This rumor is gaining traction at QX. Supposedly talks with Commutair had been recently confirmed by one of the ACP's.

Had a FA tell me about it on my commute home last night. She'd heard it from "so-and-so." I had to laugh, because I had told "so-and-so" myself a few hours earlier.

...Spreading like mono at band camp.

 

[skidbuggy]

You've been flying that plane WAAAAYYYY too long, Beavis!

Did you get so bored making Darth Vader sounds through the O2 mask and railroad crossing sounds on the trim wheel that you started studying?

Don't forget the C-3P0 eyes from the overhead maplights......

 

[ReverseSensing]

July 19, 2006, OnYourHorizon.com Heads Up

Horizon reaches tentative agreement to sublease up to 16 Q200s

Horizon Air has reached a tentative agreement with CommutAir to sublease up to 16 Q200s to the New York-based regional airline beginning next January, according to Rudi Schmidt, vice president, Finance.


The agreement aligns with the fleet plan announced in October 2005, when Jeff Pinneo, president and CEO, said the strategy was to "accelerate the transition of some Q200s out of the fleet more quickly . . . unless attractive market opportunities arise for them” in order to make way for the economically preferable Q400s.


CommutAir plans to operate the aircraft out of Cleveland, Ohio, under a fee-based flying agreement with Continental Airlines. Terms of the deal are still subject to final negotiations and the signing of a sublease agreement. More details will be made available when the final agreement is signed.

 

[QXpeon]

You guys over there at commutair know about the W&B problems we've been having with these aircraft right?? You'll never fill them to capacity. That's why we're getting rid of them. You have the same pax weights as we do unless you have a side letter or something to that effect.. I'm surprised your mgmt wanted them.

 

[WSurf]

We don't have W&B problems with our 200's at Piedmont!
The 100's are basically a 34 seat aircraft.... But the 200's will go out full and a jumpseater.
Then again we use a Whiz Wheel that has allowed more bags on board.. Helps a bit!! But the 200's are usually not Weight Restricted that much.

Any idea on pay rates?

 

[QXpeon]

Your 200's go out full with a jump? Regularly? We haven't done that in regular operations for at least a year. Maybe it is all a conspiracy to get rid of ours.

Oh, and you'll get paid less I'm sure.

 

[CopilotDoug]

How high do you guys cruise at in the 1900s?

and

How many pax does the 200 hold?

 

[CA1900]

Well, we certainly run into less-than-full planes in our 1900s, so I don't think we'll notice much difference with weight-restricted Q200's, either. With fuel for a 200NM flight plus alternate, we can count on at least 2 empty seats, or little over 10%; is is worse in the QX 200's?

CopilotDoug, we can cruise as high as FL250 in the 1900. On most legs, we'll cruise somewhere between 16,000 and FL240.

 

[ReverseSensing]

Well, we certainly run into less-than-full planes in our 1900s, so I don't think we'll notice much difference with weight-restricted Q200's, either. With fuel for a 200NM flight plus alternate, we can count on at least 2 empty seats, or little over 10%; is is worse in the QX 200's?

CopilotDoug, we can cruise as high as FL250 in the 1900. On most legs, we'll cruise somewhere between 16,000 and FL240.

The QX 200's really only turn out to be weight restricted with a lot of bags. If the number of checked bags is not ridiculous, or if you have one or two half-weights, you can fill them 37 plus a jump just fine. Do it on the SEA-PDX shuttle all the time, which tends to be light on the checked bags.

Full boat, 2100 plus burn on fuel, around 1300 in the trunk: good to go. I really don't think the new pax weights (from a year ago) have had as big an impact as was feared.

Lots of ALT/Tanker fuel, cruise ship bags, North Bend golf bags, lots of fish....maybe a different story.

Besides, I'm sure Commutair didn't negotiate for 16 (or more) aircraft without knowing exactly what they were getting W&B-wise. As for other hidden gems (boogers under the seats, etc.)...well, I guess that comes with the territory.

 

[n25na]

July 19, 2006, OnYourHorizon.com Heads Up

Horizon reaches tentative agreement to sublease up to 16 Q200s

Horizon Air has reached a tentative agreement with CommutAir to sublease up to 16 Q200s to the New York-based regional airline beginning next January, according to Rudi Schmidt, vice president, Finance.


The agreement aligns with the fleet plan announced in October 2005, when Jeff Pinneo, president and CEO, said the strategy was to "accelerate the transition of some Q200s out of the fleet more quickly . . . unless attractive market opportunities arise for them” in order to make way for the economically preferable Q400s.


CommutAir plans to operate the aircraft out of Cleveland, Ohio, under a fee-based flying agreement with Continental Airlines. Terms of the deal are still subject to final negotiations and the signing of a sublease agreement. More details will be made available when the final agreement is signed.

I wonder what this will do for the current hiring at QX....

 

[Booker]

Your 200's go out full with a jump? Regularly?

That's how I remember it being. The MATOW was typically limited by landing structural, of course, but off-hand I can't recall a time that we had to restrict payload.

 

[ReverseSensing]

I wonder what this will do for the current hiring at QX....

There was a whopping class of 4 Q400 new hires for August announced today.

Beyond that, it's anyone's guess at this point.

 

[Icelandair]

so that would leave QX with 12 200's left? They are really going to keep SEA Q200 with only 5 planes?

 

[ReverseSensing]

so that would leave QX with 12 200's left? They are really going to keep SEA Q200 with only 5 planes?

Our former Scheduling Chairman thinks not. He speculates that the company will probably close *a* base for 200 ops at some point when we get down to 12, and that since more 200's overnight in PDX, SEA will be the base that closes.

 

[Q400 Gear Bitch]

I really don't think the new pax weights (from a year ago) have had as big an impact as was feared

Obviously you DONT commute. Yes the planes go out occasionally with 37 and a jump, but that doensnt happen nearly as much as it used to.

 

[ReverseSensing]

Obviously you DONT commute. Yes the planes go out occasionally with 37 and a jump, but that doensnt happen nearly as much as it used to.

Do you remember the rhetoric last August? "The 200 is effectively a 34-seat a/c now." All I'm saying is that that turned out to not be entirely true. Every time I punch the numbers in the FMS, I look at the actual ZFW. We are simply not weight restricted to less than 37 seats as often as some would have you believe. Of course it happens sometimes, just not *all* the time.

Frankly, I think commuters have bigger headaches from station folks who still don't quite understand how the whole weight thing works. When they get in a rush, too many of them just blow jumpseaters off, rather than taking two minutes longer to work with the crew to figure out what is really possible.

I believe that too often, "weight restricted" is a figment of some station agent's imagination. Too many of them would rather leave a jumpseater behind than take a 2 minute delay. I've had them say it to my face.

I agree that 37 and a jump is not as common as it once was.

 

[rflight2u]

I bet the company at QX is talking to whomever about the new 400x dash.. 95 seats give me a break. I wouldn't mind having those new 900x series RJ's 100 seats seems to more practical than using 400's on 2.5 hour legs @ 250....

 

[Q400 Gear Bitch]

I bet the company at QX is talking to whomever about the new 400x dash.. 95 seats give me a break. I wouldn't mind having those new 900x series RJ's 100 seats seems to more practical than using 400's on 2.5 hour legs @ 250....

I dunno. I'd rather sit for 2.5 hours on a megawhacker than one of them bent wing pencil liners anyday. Unless of course it's one of them rows with the reduced pitch.........unless the beer was free. Oh wait...

 

[Icelandair]

so how do reduction bids work then? FO's can bid the 400 then without penalty if they do a reduction or?

 

[n25na]

i just hope no furloughs. i may just be a bit paranoid, having just gone through that recently

 

[ReverseSensing]

so how do reduction bids work then? FO's can bid the 400 then without penalty if they do a reduction or?

Correct. In the event of a displacement/reduction, you have the option of different aircraft/same base or same aircraft/different base, and you can displace a junior pilot if necessary. No penalty.

So if you are, for example, a SEA 200 FO, and the company decides to reduce your position, you can reduce to the 400 (and be in SEA if your seniority will hold it, which it probably will) without having to be on the lowest payscale for 2 years. I imagine most SEA 200 FO's will want to have a good line in the 400 in SEA, versus having to move to PDX when SEA closes. Frankly, if we are losing all these 200's, it would be best if the SEA 200 base closes, because then the all SEA 200 FO's have displacement rights, versus if it were to remain a tiny 200 base, 4 year FO's might end up back on reserve.

Frankly, the guys that will have it the worst are the low seniority PDX FO's, who will be manning the 200 there until the bitter end, with very little back-filling beneath them.

 

[Capt. Qdoba]

You guys over there at commutair know about the W&B problems we've been having with these aircraft right?? You'll never fill them to capacity. That's why we're getting rid of them. You have the same pax weights as we do unless you have a side letter or something to that effect.. I'm surprised your mgmt wanted them.

Take out the HGS and possibly the 2nd FMS when they leave QX and that may save a few pounds.

 

[QCappy]

And a few successful approaches!

 

[Fozzy]

You'll never fill them to capacity. That's why we're getting rid of them... I'm surprised your mgmt wanted them.

1. They will never fill them to capacity eather (I can make that joke, I did my 4 years)
2. As far as mgmt, well they are full of suprises.

Good luck guys, you will need it.

 

[magrs]

Trying to locate a few old buddies from CommutAir. Anybody know Rob Sarver or Steve Soltis or how/where to get a hold of either of them?

TIA