Now Northwest Targets Independence Air in HUGE Lansing-IAD Market...

[KingAirKiddo]

Correct, Mesa never crossed a picket line or gained another contract during a strike. They did cause sh!tty contracts at CHQ and Mesaba, concessions at Wiskey and ACA (and the resultant creation of Indy Air), a 2 year extension to a horrible contract at Trans States, and SKYW pilots agreeing to fly 90 seat jets for 50 seat wages. Did I forget anything?[


That pretty much summarizes the major points.

However, the original 87 self-serving pr!cks that crossed over to Freedom are the major culprits (more so than the rank and file Mesa pilot anyway).

 

[redflyer65]

I believe that clause only pertains to the 50-seaters. As for the 44-seat jets, anything goes. Just like the Milwaukee flying that is just about to ramp up.

 

[Mel Sharples]

Great... the devil is in the details.

Can anyone say "whipsaw"? I think this is going to be very bad for NWA and all the Airlinkers. Just one more way of muddying the water when it's already pretty darn dark.

This is going to be a hell of a year for the disfunctional Northwest family.


EDIT: Oops... I didn't know "d*a*m*n" was a bad word. Sorry.

 

[drag]

Why is this bad for NWA pilots? I'm sure they'd love to see Indy get hit.

 

[General Lee]

It looks like everyone will give Indy Air a little pressure right off the bat. The Lansing--IAD routed for NW Airlink is a little surprising, though....?


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[NWA]

Go Indy, I wish more Regionals had the balls, and leave their master and go it alone. Indy will be in good shape in a few years.

 

[flap operator]

Yup... I can see Mesaba telling NW to go fuc$k themselves... we'll take our lav carts, bag carts and catering trucks and our indentured servitude and uh... oh... that's right... you've got us by the balls and WE CAN'T ESCAPE!!

The moral of the story is that it isn't as easy for all airlines to break away from their mother hen.
Best of luck Indy... you guys have some cool stuff!

FO

 

[Beerme]

Go Indy, I wish more Regionals had the balls, and leave their master and go it alone. Indy will be in good shape in a few years.

I wish you guys would go it alone...then we could stop guaranteeing you a profit...you could start paying for your own fuel...aircraft...landing fees...gates...catering...ticketing...advertising...etc.

It won't take Independence long to miss the warm, cozy nest they left under mother hen United.

 

[Flyforyou]

Actually Beerme, I think most of us are quite happy to be out of "the nest". It's much better than the alternative, being slowly strangled by the "mother hen".

Fly

 

[Indypilot]

hey beerme, that warm cozy nest isn't so warm anymore and isn't so cozy anymore. Watch the skywest numbers this year and see what kind of profit margin they are running. It sure isn't 15% anymore. Keep in mind they were trying to get us to sign a contract that would allow them to replace a large chunk of our flying in a heartbeat, I would sure love to park 40 RJ's overnight and furlough half the pilots if we stayed in the nest. Let me ask you this, IF united is turned down for the ATSB loan, there will be more cost cutting right. Unfortunatly that means everything is back on the table, and I can guarantee you that they will come after the express carriers for more. Being on our own might not be the warm cozy nest it was, but that nest no longer exists in this world.

 

[GogglesPisano]

Fortune favors the bold

 

[Simon Says]

I wish you guys would go it alone...then we could stop guaranteeing you a profit...you could start paying for your own fuel...aircraft...landing fees...gates...catering...ticketing...advertising...etc.

It won't take Independence long to miss the warm, cozy nest they left under mother hen United.

Beerme,
NOOO! Dont cut us loose now. We don't have a Senior Leadership Team that can find their way out of a paper bag. I would take those chances if we had a whole new shift of management or at least a shift of philosophy of running an airline and not a slush fund.

Go Independence Air!!!!

 

[JohnDoe]

quote from George Zip:
"....but I think the revenue we provide FAR exceeds what NWA is spending on us."


From Northwest's 10Q for the quarter ending March 31, 2004:

Regional Carrier Revenues: $217
Regional Carrier Expenses: $256

Equals: $39 (mill.) loss

 

[Indypilot]

quote from George Zip:
"....but I think the revenue we provide FAR exceeds what NWA is spending on us."


From Northwest's 10Q for the quarter ending March 31, 2004:

Regional Carrier Revenues: $217
Regional Carrier Expenses: $256

Equals: $39 (mill.) loss

It's not that simple. Accounting rules stipulate that all revenue on northwest airplanes will be given to northwest, paying no attention to where those passengers came from. The express revenue might be $217M, but that a whole crapload of passengers at the hub that are now increasing revenue on NWA mainline flights. If they had to pay the express carriers more than what that feed was worth, they wouldn't have express carriers.

 

[JohnDoe]

I understand that Northwest gets revenue from those passengers that connect to, and continue on, a mainline flight. But to go back to what "Beerme" said, get rid of all the "subsidies" (sp) that NW pays for (ie, get rid of that 39 mil loss), and let the regionals pay for their own expenses while feeding NW. Let them pay for their own gates, ramp operations in certain cities, ticketing, marketing, the fuel price "gurantee" on the avro's (and the avros themselves), etc.. NW pays them "fee for departure" or whatever the case may be, and it is now up to the regionals to get a profit on their own.