No more Brasilia's in DFW

[IFLYASA]

Looks like the news just came out for the final ASA Brasilia flying in DFW. They will all be retired by Aug 1. I did notice, Skywest and CHQ will take over all TUL, LFT, OKC, and ICT flights. Yikes! Looks like the RJ lines will stay stagnant even though we will be adding 120+ Brasilia pilots to the RJ. Something smells fishy..

 

[PROFLYER]

Actually Skywest is not getting any additional flying out of this one. It's pretty much all CHT replacing ASA. A lot of the attitudes at ASA are scary in that people don't care if we lose the "crappy" flying to OKC, TUL, IAH, ICT, etc. The fact is this is flying that we are losing that probably won't be back. Sure, we're adding new routes in a few places, but it's not even close to what we're losing. Part of the problem is that we can only get RJ's so fast, but this is definitely not a good thing for ASA pilots. We just lost a ton of flying to CMR in ATL, now CHT is taking a big slice of DFW. While I do think that ASA will return to some growth when this fleet transition is complete, it will take some time just to get back to where we were.

Although it often seems like the sky is falling around here, we all need to remember that things aren't too bad (look at the folks at ACA). Perhaps we will be picking up some additional flying this summer that hasn't been announced yet (DFW-OAK was announced just 6 weeks before service begins). One thing is for sure, there are probably going to be a lot of E120 drivers with some time off this summer (with pay of course!).

 

[Heavy Set]

Do you sympathize with mainline now?

Proflyer,

You sound like a mainline pilot complaining about Comair and ASA encroaching on its turf....

Sure, CHT will gradually take more and more "unwanted" routes because of its lower cost structure - one extra route every couple of weeks - slowly but surely, entire states disappear from your route structure. Pilots begin to worry about slow growth and lack of progression - tremendous uncertainty abounds.... WELCOME TO DELTA MAINLINE...

Sorry to say it, but what goes around comes around. Every time you see a CHT Embraer pilot get out of his shiny Jungle Jet - take time to think about your mainline brothers who are concerned for their own jobs and livelihoods - most Comair and ASA guys don't want to admit the similarity..........

It's a wakeup call if you ask me....

 

[metrodriver]

Delta is trying real hard to dilute the presence of it's regional partners at the hubs as a result of the comair strike, so another strike will not paralyze a hub. DFW for example was all ASA before the strike. Very shortly after Skywest starts to show up, comair appears on the ramp and now CHT. You will see the same at ATL and CVG. It' just a way to decrease the impact of a strike.

 

[IFLYASA]

Yes I'm pretty sure alot of this has to do with our contract negotiations. The question is what happens after we sign our contract? Will will slowly get our routes back or do we continue this cycle?

 

[PROFLYER]

Heavy Set,

I completely sympathyze with the struggles that the mainline pilots are going through. While I certainly would like to see continued growth at ASA, my number one goal is to see mainline return to health so that many of us can move on someday. However, the ASA situation is quite different from the mainline problems. Mainline is losing flying to DCI because they are losing a LOT of money. Something has to be done to cut those losses, and DCI is a good way to cut costs. It sucks for the mainline guys on the street, but hopefully these actions will return DAL to good financial health. ASA on the other hand is making money, yet we're still losing flying We are now required to disclose our financial performance, and we've been profitable for some time now (I could be wrong, but I believe that we only lost money for 1 quarter following 9-11).

You seem to take this whole issue very personally, which is something that amazes me. You assume that since I fly for ASA, that I want to see DAL mainline shrink, and DCI to take over the world. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I want a job at a major, and the only way I'm going to get there is by building time at a place like ASA. Had my timing been a little earlier, I may very well have been one of those mainline guys on furlough. There are some ASA/CMR guys that claim the RJ is the greatest thing ever, and that's all they want to see in their career. However, the vast majority of us realize that someday the RJ growth days will be gone, and things won't be so rosey at any of the "regionals".

Just one more thing about this board that drives me nuts: Pilots need to stick together. While I'm not happy we're losing some flying to CHT, I certainly won't take that frustration out on CHT pilots. CHT pilots, just like ASA/CMR/SKW for that matter, simply come to work and fly where the boss tells them. I'm embarassed to say that we have many pilots that feel that it's the CHT pilots are the reason we're losing this flying. Give me a break, this is DCI management playing us against each other. Untile Leo starts calling pilots and asking where they want to fly, we need to quit blaming other pilots for our problems. That goes for both mainline and connection pilots

 

[Heavy Set]

Proflyer,

No harm no foul.

I agree with you - pilots should stick together more. Sure, everyone wants advancement opportunities and more flying - but people sometimes need to break it down to the core issues - pilots are fearful for their jobs. Any time you have a "lower cost" operator (whether we are talking about a mainline/regional or regional/regional case) in the area, other pilot jobs are potentially in jeapordy.... People can get a bit defensive (like General Lee) when their livelihood is under fire. But that is understandable under the circumstances.

 

[btflyer2]

Fellow Poolies . .

If there are going to be 120 "extra" pilots hanging around, guess there won't be any new hire classes this summer after all. Let's hope for an announcement of a LOT of new routes. Any other news out there??

 

[eaglefly]

I understand there are a lot of "junior" captains on the 120. Will most of them bid over to jet captain or will they be forced back to F/O ?

What is the junior DOH of a jet captain at ASA ?

 

[wil]

Eaglefly- I believe positions will be awarded on what the person can hold. Everybody has been warned to have their bid sheet properly filled out to help avoid displacement. As far as junior CRJ Captains, I'm near the bottom with a DOH of 6/00 in DFW.

Heavy Set- I truly hope that mainline flying returns in the near future. And, until it does, I hope we can find a place for the furloughees. Nobody should be on the street when Delta is using contract flying- period.

Last rumor I heard was that the Brasilia warriors would get a month or two off with pay as everyone transitions. Of course, for those that love props we still have the ATR! Fly safe- Wil