Here is my prediction for PSA.
We will operate 90 airplanes, 30 CRJ 700's and 60 CRJ 200's. We will go from 300 pilots to almost 950. Many of those will be mainline "jets for jobs" folk. The dorniers will be gone. Knoxville (thats right knoxville) and Dayton will be the major maintenance hubs and most flying will be PIT, CLT, and DCA turns. Whoever said that we are getting Dork jets is a retard. GE will give US Airways group more money after we order the CRJ's beacuse they are equipped with their CF34 turbofans. PSA will solely be an operator of Bombardiers and Mid Atlantic will solely operate Embraer's in keeping with common types.
The evidence I have is the following.
1. A brand new 10 classroom/3 office PSA training facility recently completed above the Dayton Airport Hotel next door to our headquarters and across the street from our maintenance headquarters.
2. Multiple trips by all sorts of management to YUL where the Bombardier factory is located. (some trips I have flown myself)
3. Numerous Press announcements stating the Bombardier and Embraer will both benefit from "a major order from US Airways."
4. Continued interviews and hiring while we still have people out on voluntary furough and personal leaves.
5. Maintenance personnel with June class dates in YUL for CRJ training.
6. The last Dornier C checks scheduled to be done by PSA end in May.
7. The obviousness that out of the wholly owneds, PSA has the "odd ball out" airplane and a proven track record for quick airplane transitions, a la Jetstreams to Dorniers.
8. PSA main headquarters eliminating walls and cubicles on both floors to expand the dipatch/ scheduling areas to the entire second floor and maintenence to the entire first floor. This extra room was created by the SSO taking over administrative duties of the wholly owneds like payroll, Pass dept., etc. and moving those to Harrisburg.
9. Recent discussions with PSA ALPA regarding 70 seat jet rates and details about the Jet for Jobs transition.
I know it has been a long time coming but they are finally coming and a big announcement should take place during the RAA conference May 18-21st. Check
http://www.raa.org/2003Convention/index.html for info.
The only thing that scares me is a company with 3 times the airplanes and 3 times the pilots with schedules still created by hand and a reserve system built on functioning on crew abuse and favors. When are they going to invest in some freaking new computers and scheduling software?? If they think a 90 airplane company will run on the same mom and pop company crap that a 30 airplane company barely runs on then they should start hanging out with that guy who thinks we are getting dork jets and the Iraqi Minister of Information! They could all have a tea party and talk sh*t together. Comair has a dispatch room that look like NORAD while ours looks like the bridge of the 1975 Star Trek Enterprise. I really hope this whole thing all works out, we were supposed to get RJs tomorrow since I started this job many years ago!
Best of luck to all of us in this crazy industry and especially our wholly owned brothers.
P.S. Please wait to flame me until May 22nd. Thank you.
P.S.S. Contract raise on May 10th...woo hoo!!!