RJ`s for AirTran

[DougCorp-9]

Any word from the p2p call this morning?

 

[j41driver]

I'd like to see it kept at 70 seats, but they didn't ask me.

Yes they did...or at least they will. Just vote no.

 

[tubelcane]

Where's the full TA? The NPA sent an email saying it would be available June 1st. Its almost noon still nada. Didn't they come to an agreement 2 friggin weeks ago? WTFOVER!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lear70]

And with less than 30 days to go until the vote.

Want to lay bets on whether they'll open up voting right away or delay it until after they have a roadshow or two?

I'm not impressed...

 

[fam62c]

Regarding Scope

Maybe the best way to approach the scope issue is to have your MEC discuss with the company what exactly it is they want to do. Do they envision 70 seaters at Skyway if they buy Midwest? Do they want 70 seaters subcontracted out with a non-wholly-owned provider? Do they envision EMB-190's with 86 seats? How many planes, what routes ? How would it effect AAI mainline growth? Can mainline growth be guaranteed even with RJ's coming into the nework? The problem with scope is when it remains open-ended. It's much easier to evaluate scope and carve out a specific exception if you know exactly what the company wants to do rather than just giving them total flexibility. I would think that the important thing for the AAI pilots is that mainline growth is not impaired by the addition of RJ's. I don't think you really have a burning desire to fly 70 seaters at prevailing industry rates, I think you want more 737's.

As far as keeping everything in-house is concerned that might be hard to do but it is possible if you are willing to give enough up to operate the smaller planes at a cost structure (not just pay rates, total system costs) that's competitive with the regionals. Just ask your CA's and FO's that are close to being CA's how much money they are willing to give up in compensation to keep 70 seaters in-house. I'm guessing the answer will be "nothing." Eveything you get requires bargaining capital and scope is no exception. 70 seats seems like a reasonable cut-off when your mainline fleet consists of 717's and 737's. You already have a 100 seat aircraft on your property so it's essential not to give ANY 100 seat flying up. In order for mainline to operate 70 seaters competitively you would need to make it economical for the company which means rates comparable to other operators and probably an equipment lock so training costs don't eat the company alive. If you had 3 fleet types on property would that help you be more competitive with Southwest or would it make your cost structure higher? My guess is that your company will never put 70 seaters on the AAI mainline certificate.

Sometimes when you think you win with scope you actually lose. The thing to remember about scope is that you can't "scope" your competitors. Let's say you get scope at 50 seats and you prevent 70 seaters from going outside. That's good right? Now the company decides that it can't operate 70 seaters at mainline competitively so it just doesn't get the planes. Good again right, that means they need more 737's......right? Here's where the problem comes in: some routes need 70 seaters and even though you scoped YOUR company your competitors (regionals) can still fly 70 seaters. If the route demands a 70 seater (and fitting the correctly sized plane to the market is a cornerstone of good economics) and you don't have them then your competitor gets the route that you don't fly and those passengers flow into their network not yours. Some of those passengers would have connected on to your 717's and 737's but since your competitors got the customers maybe you don't need as many 737's because your network is handling less traffic. Airtran has chosen a hub and spoke model and the addition of smaller hubs like MCI and MKE will make feed, thin routes and some smaller jets a necessity. You can feed yourself out of ATL with 717's and 737's because it's a massive market but MKE and MCI are very different.

Anyway, good luck with your negotiations and good luck with the MEH buyout. With Airtran and MEH joined you guys could have the foundation of a powerful and successful airline with nation-wide coverage.