Questions for Republic guys

[shearedshaft]

I guess I was wrong. MY $300 million is really $450 million, and you're $325 million short of the goal.

But all is well, do not look behind the curtain. I'm sure you'll make it up in MKE as Airtran and SWA overlay your routes. Or maybe its Denver, where apparently SWA is willing to take one for the team and keep your yields down.

 

[StaySeated]

I guess I was wrong. MY $300 million is really $450 million, and you're $325 million short of the goal.

But all is well, do not look behind the curtain. I'm sure you'll make it up in MKE as Airtran and SWA overlay your routes. Or maybe its Denver, where apparently SWA is willing to take one for the team and keep your yields down.

And your $3 BILLION comment fits into the equation, where?

 

[shearedshaft]

And your $3 BILLION comment fits into the equation, where?

You got me. My mistake.

You have to quadruple your cash reserves, not increase them by thirty.

But the grim reaper is still outside your door, with Southwest and Airtran pushing him from behind.

 

[Going2Baja]

Bottom line is the majors need to fly their own routes. Buy the EMB's...or the new CRJ-C's and fly them in house...possible seperate work rules - but MUST protect the scope!

Baja.

 

[Scope out RJ's]

We shall see....

What's there to see skooter, just give out more $5 favors, you'll be making money, "hand over fist.":laugh:

 

[Lear70]

Careful... your edit reason plus the post itself is starting to border on that context we talked about again...

Keep it clean, ladies and gentlemen. Throw flame all you want, but keep the sexual innuendos out of it.

Thanks,

 

[Sailpilot]

.possible seperate work rules

Baja.

gave that away quick!?

at jetblue we fly the same work rules as the Airbus. Yes, they are the worst and bottom of the Major airline industry... but the same as our Airbus.

 

[StaySeated]

Hey sheared, you have assumed the role of an SWA pilot in numerous other posts. Do you really work for SWA? If so, why do you still care about what happens at little ole frontier?

 

[shearedshaft]

Why are you so quick to deflect outside interest? This is probably the tenth post you've made that basically says "Leave us alone."

Why is that?

 

[Minimaniac]

1. The RAH CBA covers all pilots on the RAH master seniority list. At this moment, that means Chautauqua, Republic, and Shuttle America pilots.

2. The RAH CBA became amendable on October 1st, 2007.

3. The negotiation process began in May, 2007, as allowed by the RLA.

4. Contract negotiations were paused earlier this year when the acquisitions of Midwest and Frontier were announced. Our negotiating committee wanted to step back and see what the new direction and fleet makeup of RAH would be before continuing with negotiations. Negotiations are scheduled to resume in January.

5. Prior to the pause in negotiation, all sections were either agreed upon, or in most cases, at in impasse. The lone exception was the compensation section. An initial proposal was fielded by the IBT, but it was promptly withdrawn when the acquisitions were announced, and before the company had a chance to put forth a counter offer.

6. For now, Midwest, Frontier, and Lynx pilots operate under their respective contracts. That will continue until after the SLI is complete, at which time the contracts will be combined in some way. I don't fully understand that part of the process, but expect that most parts of the Frontier (or Lynx or Midwest) will be added to our contract and apply to those pilots. Pay for a particular aircraft should be preserved (no changes for Lynx and Frontier, Midwest pilots will be paid for whichever aircraft they end up on, with some differences based on longevity or partial pay protection possible). Work rules will probably follow the airplanes, but certain things like differences in scope will have to be rectified for the singular contract, and likely the framework of the RAH CBA will be considered as primary.

7. The combination of contracts will likely precede any new CBA being voted in. That means that the "combined" contract will limp along until a new CBA is voted in. This should work to everyone's advantage, as the inputs and will of the Midwest and Frontier pilots should ensure the best possible outcome.

8. One fact that the cheerleaders of an RAH demise constantly overlook is that Frontier is still a valuable brand. Midwest will have all its value erased, no doubt. But, if Bedford finds that the branded operations are too costly, either through direct operational losses, or through threatened or discontinued relationships with major airline partners, he can sell off the Frontier brand and assets. Both the branded and contracted operations are individually profitable. If bringing both under one roof destroys profit, then all Bedford has to do is separate them again. It is not hard to see that is a realistic option, and offers Bedford a way out if necessary. Think outside the box, guys and gals. It is very unlikely that Bedford would commit his company to a do or die scenario when it wasn't necessary. It's just like landing on a short runway. It is riskier. You expect a good outcome. But is crashing the only other option? As long as you have a decent airplane, you can always go around. Selling off F9 is one go around option, and the RAH "aircraft" is still capable of doing the go around. We aren't deadsticking it into our futures, here. ExpressJet survived their foray into branded flying. Indy Air did not, but that was because they had no other revenue streams. As stated above, RAH has a diversified revenue stream for at least 7-8 years.

9. I don't know what RAH will look like in 5 years, but it will still be around, barring a grounding of an entire fleet type or the collapse of multiple mainline partners in the near future.

10. I don't know what the new pay will look like, but understand that some type of compromise must be made by the pilots in terms of what pilots make what. My reasoning is such: The 145/170/175 aircraft operate under fixed rate contracts with major partners. The fixed fees have always set an artificial cap on what our pilots could be paid. You can't get paid more than you bring in and keep a job. This has hindered regional pilot pay for nearly two decades now.

Conversely, the 190 and 320 fleets have no limits on pilot pay potential, as the company can directly change ticket costs to cover the increases in labor cost. So here is the dilemma. Should our Airbus and 190 pay go up to Jet Blue rates, while our 145/170 fleets go up 5-10%, with tweaks to FO base and longevity? Or should we spread the wealth, and take some of the revenues from the 190/Airbus side of the equation and bring up the pay for 145/170 pilots to a level that exceeds what a strictly fee-per-departure revenue stream would allow? That means the 190 and 320 rates would stay below Jet Blue, but our 145 and 170 pilots would receive substantial pay increases (to the point of industry leading for equipment size), and our pilot group overall would see small changes in pay between equipment?

The bigger the gains on the 190 and the 320 means smaller gains for the 145 and 170. Jet Blue was able to get their rates because the company could directly control all revenues. RAH can't do that. We control half of our revenues, with the other half being set already. I'm not saying that we can't achieve notable gains everywhere, but the potential increase in pay due to fixed fee contracts will hinder us somewhere. Help everyone, or help a limited group? Going backwards is not an option for any of our pay scales, including the Airbus. We have no reason to give that up. But the increases in pay will involve a compromise somewhere.