Mesaba Airlines Poised for Massive Growth

[Butters]

I'll preface this by saying that press releases/sources to follow shortly. i.e "speculation" for now.


200 new hires before the end of 2008
500 new hires before the end of 2009

All new airplanes to be operated out of ATL. The new ATL base to be as large as the DTW base ASAP.
The New Premier Regional Carrier for the New Delta.

Why post this stuff? None of it is true, at least as of yet. Now you make all XJ pilots sound like self-serving d-bags, especially with the last sentance. (Yeah, yeah... and I already know someone is going to say "You guys already are self-serving d-bags..." Ha-ha.)

You obviously haven't learned from your time at XJ and working under NWA. It's just like playing "Kill of the Hill" on snow piles as a kid. The one on top laughing and cheering won't be there for long. Even if we grow, it will just be more for them to leverage against us come contract time.

Comair was growing right up until they furloughed. There is a lot of rumor right now and no facts as of yet. I don't care who your "source" is either. I know some at the training center are purposely leaking bad info just to keep the pilots guessing, so take any info with a huge grain of salt.

Nothing personal and I don't want to cap on you, but let's wait for official word to come out on anything before posting junk like this. And let's not forget our growth means someone else is losing jobs. That's nothing to brag about.

My prediction is that NOBODY at ANY regional associated with Delta is going to come out of this mess with a sweet taste in their mouth.

DING-DING-DING! We have a winner!

 

[DoinTime]

OPEC is cutting production right now based on demand. The oil companies right now are breaking even at 60.00/barrel.

Breaking even at $60/barrel? How did they ever do business at $15/barrel?

 

[Poahi]

Breaking even at $60/barrel? How did they ever do business at $15/barrel?

The economy has to be pretty bad when oil drops $3.19 per barrel and airline stocks get hammered. And all of this on top of OPEC CUTTING production. It's far from over yet.

 

[FastJP4]

The more 90 seat "regional" jets being flown for peanuts - the less mainline jobs to be had. You guys are rapidly turning yourself into lifetime regional pilots with regional pay. The spiral continues downward.

 

[General Lee]

Thanks for proving my point General. DC-9s will be pulled from MSP,MEM, and DTW to consolidate traffic in ATL. The 50-seaters will then be redistributed to the former NW hubs to fill in

Incorrect. We will be putting MD88s and new MD90s into MSP and they will hit both coasts from there, along with some short stuff to major cities. We will be moving planes around like crazy, with some A320/19s in SLC and CVG, and A330s in JFK and ATL. 767ERs will go to SEA to do Asia, and do some MSP and DTW flying too. Lot's of change, and parkings of RJs---50 seaters. MEM will likely see a large down gauge, along with some in CVG, although the latter is our highest yield hub. The CR9s and E175s may see more smaller city flying, like BIS and FAR, etc. Where do you think the SF3s are coming from to feed ATL? Not MSP and DTW I don't think....so will there be all CRJ-50s in MEM? Doesn't sound right to me....We'll see....


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Poahi]

The more 90 seat "regional" jets being flown for peanuts - the less mainline jobs to be had. You guys are rapidly turning yourself into lifetime regional pilots with regional pay. The spiral continues downward.

Who defines scope? I have never seen Delta execs talking to spikey haired regional pilots wearing ipods about what airplanes Delta pilots should fly. That logic holds the same truth as regional pilots being responsible for age 65.

 

[Erlanger]

I hear a rumor that Mesaba may have SLC and LAX bases in the next year. Anybody have info on that?

 

[flyboyzz1]

yeah the info is....its a rumor nothing more or less

 

[Crash Pad]

So what happens when they close MSP, CVG, MEM, SLC? We know hubs are going to close.

You covered oil and every other scenario why not the most obvious?

 

[profit]

Great posts by Tarzan and Butters..

Note to XJ pilots. Please tame the rhetoric. We are pilots like anyone else.

Re-growth is a relief for XJ after being f#$%ed in the a$$ for many, many years.

Unfortunately, airlinepilotcentral pay scales only show current specs. The post bankruptcy snapbacks amount to roughly 5$ per year raises for many of us. No doubt DAL/NWA will be looking to make another assault on the rates before too long.

Pilot cost is a small consideration of total cost in a system. The percentage of total is very small compared to things like fuel and equipment.

It is VERY true that the 50% personnel loss during the bankruptcy brought the pilot cost WAY down by reducing average longevity from roughly 6-8 years down to 2-4. Massive growth also keeps longevity cost down in relative terms.

NWA has always preferred their regionals to be entirely under their control. It also makes sense from a profit side to not have to negotiate with their regional with respect to contracts. And a wholly-owned also allows all revenue to go straight into the pocket of the major.

Note to junior XJ pilots. Consider your good fortune. (most actually do). Your arrival at a good time was mostly luck, when a ton of others are getting the shaft due to the screwed up nature of the industry.