Pinnacle/Mesaba/Colgan SLI!

[SEVEN]

So, no big announcement Seven. Could it be you're just full of crap?

Pinnacle Dispatch : Wednesday, May 11, 2011
A Message From Doug Shockey, Chief Operating Officer


I want to give you an update on the status of our transition and let you know of a specific change to our plans related to the process for combining our turboprop fleets.

We continue to make progress; and along the way, we’re getting regular feedback, not only from the FAA but also from our mainline partners.

As you might know, Delta has adjusted its plans to wind down Saab flying a number of times, and we were hopeful Delta might reconsider. However, it’s become clear Delta will stick with its plans to eliminate Saab flying from operations by the early part of 2012. This impacts 21 of the 28 Saabs currently operated by Mesaba, which ultimately will be returned to Delta under the terms of our lease. With Delta’s decision, it just doesn’t make sense to go through the cost and manpower of moving Colgan’s aircraft to Mesaba when the vast majority of the end-state turboprop fleet is currently operating at Colgan.

We still plan to combine our turboprop fleet under one airline, and that airline will still be called Mesaba. However, rather than move the Colgan aircraft under the Mesaba operating certificate as originally planned, we will keep the Colgan aircraft (32 Saabs and 29 Q400s) under the Colgan operating certificate and add the seven Mesaba Saabs flying for US Airways. The Mesaba certificate will continue to support the Delta Saab operation as that fleet winds down, and then that certificate will be retired. In the end, the Colgan operating certificate will be used to house this combined fleet and will be renamed to Mesaba.

In addition to being easier and less expensive because of fewer aircraft to move, this change will allow for easier FAA approvals. After all, the Colgan FAA office already has approved, and is fully involved with, Colgan’s Saab and Q400 operations. The Mesaba FAA has no familiarity with the Q400. So by moving Mesaba’s Saabs to Colgan’s certificate, there is no learning curve required or additional fleet approvals needed by the Colgan FAA.

Another benefit to this change is flexibility. Because FAA approvals won’t exist to force schedule requirements, we’ll be able to move the turboprop aircraft between Mesaba and Colgan independently from the jets transitioning from Mesaba to Pinnacle. We can manage the rate of turboprop aircraft and personnel movement solely based on operational needs. From a timing perspective, we will wind down the Mesaba operation as Delta winds down its Saab operations (which we expect to be completed in the first quarter of 2012). At that point, we will move the seven US Airways Saabs over to Colgan, retire the Mesaba operating certificate (pending the completion of our jet aircraft fence transition) and assign Mesaba’s name to the Colgan operating certificate.

On the jet side, the Mesaba jets will still transfer to the Pinnacle operating certificate. The steps and timing are always subject to change as we continue getting feedback from the FAA. The main driving factor in the details and timing of our jet aircraft will be the staffing models. We have to make sure we’ve got the right numbers of crews, instructors and oversight personnel to ensure a smooth, safe transition.

It’s important to point out that we still believe there’s a good future for Saab flying. In fact, one of our 2011 goals is to develop a long-term fleet plan for the Saab, and the seven Mesaba Saabs currently flying for US Airways are a good example of this. Today’s high fuel costs reinforce the need for an economical aircraft like the Saab, and we’re working diligently to find other mainline partners that could benefit from our expertise with this aircraft.

Please note this decision does not change any of the end-state management selections that have been made.

I can’t say there won’t be more changes as we progress through this transition, but I can say that I’m extremely excited about our future. Thank you for all you’re doing to make our airline the best in our industry. We’ll continue to keep you posted as plans progress.



Doug

 

[RJLoser]

Seven, Your saying these pilots would have been furloughed for SLI purposes?

 

[CptMurf]

Source? This is not on MyMesaba at 7:00pm EST.

 

[kmox29]

This is fact...and very sad to see the Mesaba certificate go.

 

[CptMurf]

This is fact...and very sad to see the Mesaba certificate go.

Thanx Kmox. If there was anyone to believe it is u.

Sux, but what's in a name. Nobody I tell knows who we are anyway. Now I can scare the crap out of them.

FOever. Seeeeeyyaaaa!!!!

 

[kmox29]

Thanx Kmox. If there was anyone to believe it is u.

Sux, but what's in a name. Nobody I tell knows who we are anyway. Now I can scare the crap out of them.

FOever. Seeeeeyyaaaa!!!!

Roger that.

 

[Vertigo37]

There are a lot of very very good pilots from Mesaba. Even some great aviators. Looking forward to flying with the good guys.

Above all, they are Pilots. Let's take care of them as we move forward.

 

[CptMurf]

Posted somewhere else...

This is from an email the Colgan Merger Committee sent out to all Colgan pilots:


The Mesaba Airlines merger committee presented to Mr. Bloch an integration method of “Date of Hire.” Under the Mesaba final proposal, the new seniority list will be created in seniority order from the most senior pilot of the three groups becoming the new #1 to the most junior of the three groups who would be placed at the bottom. “Date of Hire” integration is a very straight forward integration methodology. However, in the opinion of your Merger Committee, it is better suited when integrating similar pilot groups. Colgan Air is a younger pilot group and we saw very few similarities between Colgan and Mesaba or Pinnacle that would suggest that a “Date of Hire” methodology would best suit the pilots of all three airlines.



The Pinnacle Airlines merger committee presented to Mr. Bloch an integration method of “Status and Category ratio integration.” Under the Pinnacle final proposal, the new seniority list will be created by placing each pilot into 1 of 6 possible groups; group 1 being at the top of the list and group 6 at the bottom of the list. The Pinnacle Merger Committee included all of their pilots within the first 2 groups along with a select number of Mesaba pilots; the first Colgan pilot does not show up until group 3. By delaying the placement of a Colgan pilot until group 3 it would create a list that unjustly underestimates the equities brought by the Colgan Air pilots to this merger. This methodology would place the now #1 Colgan pilot at #1904 on the new list. Your Merger Committee would never approve of a methodology that places our most senior pilot junior to Pinnacle’s most junior pilot.



The Colgan Air merger committee presented to Mr. Bloch an integration method of “Ratio integration.” Under the Colgan Air final proposal, the new seniority list will be created by constructing 33 individual blocks. Each block will be comprised by listing pilots from each airline in a ratio consistent with the number of pilots to be integrated from each pilot group. This method would guarantee that every one of the active pilots to be integrated will remain within 3% of their current, pre-merger, relative seniority position. We felt this methodology would help minimize any disruption in the quality of life of all 2807 pilots to be integrated. Every pilot would maintain the same bidding power after the merger since every pilot will have the same percentage of pilots senior and junior to them. Our intention was to present a realistic integration methodology that would ultimately be accepted by all of the pilots that will soon make up the “new” Pinnacle Airlines. We did not want to propose an outlandish methodology in the hope of having the arbitrator grant a portion of our final position. One of our goals was to have Pinnacle and Mesaba view the Colgan pilot group as an honest and straightforward group.

 

[Fred Rogers]

I get a laugh out of every threat that even has the word Pinnacle in some post one time always turns to a discussion about how terrible Lido charts are. Pretty funny.

 

[PCL_128]

Your both right. The timeframe is off,

TW and the XJ MEC tried to get the LOA reciprocated during the contract negotiations and downgrades/furloughs of 2002. 9E MEC stated they were not taking our flying, but Northwest flying and refused to reciprocate. Although the page remained in the contract, at that point, the LOA sorta died. Since the activation triggers were met, but the LOA not applied.

By the time the BK came around, XJ didn't even discuss trying to enact it.

That could very well be true. I didn't get on the MEC until around '04, so I'm not sure what happened in '02. I can say without a doubt, though, that no request was made during bankruptcy.