Great Lakes Lost UA Codeshare

[Pee_nuss]

Cardinal, you are correct CAL does service ABE with a bus, but there is an important distinction to be made. Those CAL passengers are going to EWR to connect to somewhere in the CAL system not as a final destination, they are also getting 500 FF miles. That is the only bus route in the CAL system. With this purposed GLA service a much bigger % of their routes would be made up of bus routes, and without a code share partner are they really connecting to somewhere?

Skywest is going to start using a bus from fresno to visallia and LAX OXN and SNA. The problem is that ALPA says those are their busses, and any positions created by busses with more that 50 seats, a furloughed United bus driver from LAX must be hired. When the TA is up, we will try to get a separate payscale for the different busses:

0-50 seat diesel
50-70 turbo-diesel
and 70-90 seat turbo- diesel

The problem is that mesa has already bid the routes, and they are undercutting us, by paying their drivers in AM/PM bucks.

This industry is a mess

nuss

 

[grog_sit_reserv]

Condolences to Lakes, I hear they are a great company, but this Bus stuff is freakin' hilarious....

 

[Cardinal]

I was in the meeting when Voss threw out the idea.

Ok, now you've got my interest peaked. What was the general feeling on the future? Namely, if the United codeshare is lost will Lakes say "screw it" and shut down? Or keep flying until every last borrowed drop of jet fuel is burnt? Or scale back dramatically under Frontier's code, all the while carrying the high debt load and miserable credit created by a much bigger airline? Not to pry, but I'm a bit up in the air here. Furloughed is one thing, but the potential to never be recalled is quite another. I just got settled out here, starting a new job, starting a new business as well, a gaze into the haziest of crystal balls would be fantastic.

Incidentally, GLA does serve Pueblo, unless some thing changed in the last few months.

 

[FranktheTank]

Skylane58,

Just curious, if you're in with Voss why don't you tell us what the hell is really going on up there. And if you and Voss are so tight, when did you have a meeting with him. What, are you management? And like Voss runs the show anymore, he's on the backburner. Haven't you heard there is a new sherrif in town up there. And if you're in like you are, and Lakes doesn't fly to Pueblo anymore, how come I dropped off a whopping two people last thursday? Come on man, who are you, our new bus driver?

 

[canadflyau]

***MY OPINION***

There is a reason that as a condition of the deal with Raytheon Voss had to go. There are reasons why Lakes floundered around in the Red, and Voss went from house to house, car raced, and was not sweating Lakes for even one moment.

When he started this thing and it took off, he very quickly learned a lesson.. Where the money is in aviation, and it is not flying airplanes or selling seats. He became very good at getting awarded the EAS contracts to guarantee Lakes a revenue stream. Unfortunately the revenue stream runs dry as all the bills are paid. As a good businessman he saw a huge opportunity. He saw how he could use Lakes as a great way to make money.. lets follow the dollars. Very quickly, where he could, he got in the Aviation fuel business where we provided service awarded himself the fuel contract for Lakes, so for a hefty fee we buy our jet fuel. Then came Lakes Printing, the sole printing company used by Great Lakes Airlines, again for a hefty fee we get all our manuals and company materials printed for us. It doesn't end there, but you get the idea. His goal very quickly shifted from running a succesful airline, to running very succesful side shows that he can assure Lakes was purchasing own his services/products. So, now I hear mention of a bus transit and I wouldn't be surprised. Lakes would probably pay the Voss bus company more to drive the empty bus than to fly the 1900. Gotta give the guy credit! He wasn't crazy when he told UAL "thanks for the offer to finance jets that we operate, but NO." He already had things just right! Keep the company floundering in the red, but keep it alive (it all helps get $$ from big brother.) You have Raytheon (and other creditors) politicng on our behalf in Washington, so they can get paid. But Voss made sure we kept in check with our fuel bills, printing costs, and the other parts of the supporting ops he owned.

I would gather that any idea of a bus run has been parked as of late. Like another posted, there is a new sheriff in town, and he has Raytheon breathing down his neck.

 

[skylane58]

I am not "tight" with Voss. I am just in the management buisness in one of the EAS markets. He invited us over for a meeting to disscuss the EAS and what not. I have no idea of the future of Lakes, I wish I did. I dont know if the buss thing is going to work either. The real big problem is the TSA, they don't know how to screen a bus, at least here they don't. Then the bus can't stop or it becomes not secure, then it defeats the purpose of riding the bus. Its just an idea for them, nothing more right now. I am sorry, I got the impression Lakes didn't fly to Pueblo, thats my bad.

I do know that if Rocky Mountain Airways gets going, within a year one of the two will be gone, either GLA or RMA. One reason for that is the EAS. RMA is planning on not using it. If they can make it work without, the Feds will yank the funds from that market. I dont have a crystal ball, its more of a bowling ball. I can only give you my interpratation of the facts.

 

[canadflyau]

United signed the new codeshare agreement with Lakes on Wed. From what I hear they are very excited in CYS b/c the new agreement opens many doors for Lakes...

 

[Alaskaairlines]

And I heard that they took 6-7 guys back from furlough!

 

[azpilot]

United signed the new codeshare agreement with Lakes on Wed. From what I hear they are very excited in CYS b/c the new agreement opens many doors for Lakes...

Any link to a press release for this? I hope Lakes can pull through one more time.

 

[DrunkIrishman]

Here's a press release link about the UAL GLA relationship...it doesn't say anything about renewing their contract.

http://www.nasdaq.com//asp/quotes_n...ACQDJON200306201455DOWJONESDJONLINE000684.htm