CRJ-700s at PSA

[boeingdriver213]

The E-170 is having some teething problems at U. U was not expecting to be the launch customer with all the associated pain involved with a brand new aircraft, but they are. Embreaer has people all over the place trying to smooth out the launch of the new aircraft, so I don't think it will take too long to get things going smoothly (I hope!) As for the challenges facing the U wholly owned carriers, we exist in an industry that favors management right now. They know many pilots, mechanics, and flight attendants are, and have been out of work for a long time, are desperate to find work of any kind, and are willing to take the low wages offered by management. Until there is a true recovery in this industry, the ball is in managements court, and all the whining and moaning and finger pointing won't change a thing. With the advent of these new 70-110 seat "regional aircraft", airline management has found a way to lower labor costs while getting the larger aircraft they say they need. If it's a Boeing, Airbus, or MD, it's gonna cost more to crew than a Bombardier or Embreaer, because they are "regional aircraft", and pay "regional wages". Hope we are all still around to see the eventual recovery of this industry......

 

[BFE]

Re: Fact:

PSA pilot group did not get to vote on their current working agreement
PSA pilot group did not get to vote on LOA 81 (J4J)
PSA pilot group did not attempt to recall any MEC members after the injustice and then voted them in for another term.

I guess your MEC really does speak for you. I suppose I'm just tired of hearing about how PSA was led into something they didn't want when they continue to follow the same dictatorship to this day without rebellion.

Let me ask you a simple question since you cannot get over this vote; similar to John Kerry not being able to get over Florida.

Assuming the PSA pilots were able to vote on the J4J issue only to have it fail. And assuming we could therefore be in the same shape as ALG & PDT. And later you hear that your reps were bound by a confidentiality agreement and could not tell you all the facts of the airline. What would you do or say to that? What if your reps had credible information that if the agreement was voted down we would be out of jobs but yet they send it out to the pilot group for a vote and watched it die.

 

[blzr]

Instead, this vote translates to giving a 120 year old man cpr while he's having a heart attack. Just prolongs the agony.

At Piedmont, the pilots were allowed to vote. We all got to think of the implications if it failed, and voted yes to j4j. Psa bypassed the voting process, yes I know it is LEGAL, and their MEC voted it in for everyone.

When I saw the article in the crew room in CLT, I knew it was time to find another job.

But who are we kidding, PDT has 25+ year captains, They'd make toooooo much money for Siegel to dish out.

 

[blzr]

Chech this out

I guess PSA does have the 70 seaters after all..


Airline cutting service at SRQ


By RICH SHOPES



[email protected]


US Airways is cutting service at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport as part of a nationwide push to use regional jets in some secondary markets.

The change, scheduled to happen on May 2, won't affect ticket prices but it could make the wait longer as passengers try to book flights on planes with fewer seats than US Airways' Boeing 737 planes.

The airline is replacing flights from Sarasota-Bradenton with PSA Airlines, a regional jet service that it owns. PSA's Bombardier CRJ regional jets seat only 70 passengers while the 737s seat 144.



PSA, based in Dayton, Ohio, will run three daily flights from Sarasota-Bradenton to US Airways' hub in Charlotte, N.C., the same number of flights US Airways now operates to Charlotte.

The shift also could mean a loss in revenues for Sarasota-Bradenton International.

The airport, also known by the designation SRQ, earns money on fees based on the size of aircraft and the frequency of landings. It also makes money on purchases at concession stands as passengers wait to board their flights.



Airport Executive Director Fred Piccolo, who's predicting gains in passenger counts in coming years, said the move to regional jets could benefit Sarasota-Bradenton in the long run.

Unlike US Airways, PSA has promised not to curtail service in the slow summer months from three to two daily flights, Piccolo said.

Also, PSA will adopt an earlier flight schedule that could lure more business passengers. US Airways' earliest flight now leaves at 1:20 p.m. PSA's first flight would take off at 7:25 a.m.



"Maybe I am being optimistic, but having flights at one, three and five doesn't bring you any business passengers," Piccolo said.

He conceded that the change likely will mean smaller landing fees charged to the regional jets, but again he said the difference would be minor: "It could go from $100 to $75.

"I don't know that passenger counts will be going down," Piccolo said. "With a better schedule, the flights could be fuller, say from 85 percent (full) to 90 percent.



The move by struggling US Airways, which last week restructured a $1 billion federal loan to give it flexibility to shed assets, is part of a nationwide plan.

"We placed an order last spring for 170 regional jets to bring us more flexibility in certain markets. That's why we brought in a 70-seater aircraft," said US Airways spokeswoman Amy Kudwa. "We're just now taking delivery of those regional jets."

Kudwa, who would not reveal how full its Boeing flights have been at Sarasota-Bradenton, acknowledged that the change to regional jets will save money for the airline, which emerged from bankruptcy a year ago.

 

[328dude]

First one was flown in yesterday. 1 tommorrow and another one later next month.