Pinnacle: Northwest shopping for bidders on Airlink fleet

[bomberbubba]

Memphis Business Journal - 5:33 PM CST Friday
Pinnacle: Northwest shopping for bidders on Airlink fleet

Northwest Airlines is shopping for the lowest bidder to operate a fleet of airplanes like the Northwest Airlink service operated by Pinnacle Airlines Corp.
In an 8-K report filed late Friday with the SEC, Pinnacle (NASDAQ: PNCL) reported that Northwest Airlines Inc. (PINK SHEETS: NWACQ) has sent a request for proposal to Pinnacle and other airlines asking for proposals to operate a number of 76-seat regional jets comparable to the number of aircraft currently comprising Pinnacle's fleet.
"It is unclear at this time what the intentions of Northwest might be as to the operation of its Airlink system, and as to Pinnacle in particular, in the context of its overall planning for emergence from bankruptcy," Pinnacle stated in the filing. "Pinnacle plans to seek more instructive communications with Northwest as to those plans."
Northwest filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.
Philip Reed, vice president of marketing for Pinnacle, said under bankrupty laws, Northwest "has the right to validate or invalidate all contracts and to go out and seek a lower bidder to decrease its cost structure."
Reed said the RFP sent out by Northwest is essentially a move "seeking competitive bids for our products."
Reed said Pinnacle is confident in its ability to effectively compete against other airlines.
"We know from our filings and the filings of other regional airliners that we not only offer some of the lowest costs, but also the highest level of quality in the regional airline industry," Reed said.

 

[YourPilotFriend]

The game continues.

 

[TinGoose1]

Have you guys settled your contract yet? This sounds like they want you to go backward in your contract, so that management can go forward. Tell management to go to He11.

 

[Tank Commander]

Hey Hero, if you read real close, You'll see not only are they asking 9E to bid on 76 seat flying but to bid on the flying that they are doing right now. They loose, they loose all.

 

[PCL_128]

Have you guys settled your contract yet? This sounds like they want you to go backward in your contract, so that management can go forward. Tell management to go to He11.

There won't be any concessionary bargaining. I can tell you that much. To answer your question though, no we haven't settled the contract. Lots of progress has been made, but we're still far from done.

 

[amcnd]

Can you say "Hello MESA" :-(

 

[ubpilot]

Between Mesa and Pinnacle, who do you think can offer the lower operation cost? Oh boy, this is the Survival of the Cheapest.

 

[The_Russian]

Mesa underbid Gulfstream, dude. Mesa will underbid Pinnacle. You will be underbid by a chimp.

 

[405]

Mesa underbid Gulfstream, dude. Mesa will underbid Pinnacle. You will be underbid by a chimp.

I don't know. Pinnacle squeezes grease out of pennies.

 

[Tank Commander]

Mesa is trying to figure out how will be wearing the grass shirts in the islands, pilots or F/A's. If I could afford another x-wife and figure out how to live on 22,000 in the Islands I would go! I look pretty good in a grass skirt.