Rumor SkyWest Inc. receives new jet financing?

[777forever]

That is not brand scope. Brand scope is mainline scoping in ALL flying done under their brand. In other words, if the airplane says united, delta, or American on it, it is flying by pilots on the united, delta, american seniority list, respectively.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[Freebrd]

nice response 777 you moron

 

[titans10]

That is not brand scope. Brand scope is mainline scoping in ALL flying done under their brand. In other words, if the airplane says united, delta, or American on it, it is flying by pilots on the united, delta, american seniority list, respectively.

I agree.

 

[WalterSobchak]

OO's long-term dream is to codeshare with any airline on every flight into/out of BFE without the branding (for example, DEN-CPR-BIL-HLN-SLC on a larger aircraft...with pax feed by United, Delta, Frontier, and anyone else flying into Denver...without the Express/Connection branding). Basically, a return to the original regional/commuter model, but on a slightly grander scale.

In order to even begin to make that work, I think OO's more likely plan is to place a rather sizable order of Q400's or ATR 72-600's to replace E120's and CRJ2's. I believe some preliminary work was done toward adding the Q400 to the OO certificate a few years back...I wouldn't be surprised to see a deal done and Q400's flying for OO within the year.

 

[amcnd]

"I believe some preliminary work was done toward adding the Q400 to the OO certificate a few years back...I wouldn't be surprised to see a deal done and Q400's flying for OO within the year."

Not realy... Just a few manuals to look over.. Thats about it on the pilot/MX side... Did'nt get far at all.. Te E145 got more involved.. And that program only lasted 3 weeks... A few manuals and ground school lay out...

 

[WalterSobchak]

Not realy... Just a few manuals to look over.. Thats about it on the pilot/MX side... Did'nt get far at all.. Te E145 got more involved.. And that program only lasted 3 weeks... A few manuals and ground school lay out...

Fair enough. I assumed/was led to believe more than that was done before I departed OO. Either way, I would imagine an E120/CRJ2 replacement fleet before going after larger metal.

 

[XPOO]

Fair enough. I assumed/was led to believe more than that was done before I departed OO. Either way, I would imagine an E120/CRJ2 replacement fleet before going after larger metal.

It was more than just a few manuals and kicking the tires. A pay proposal went out to the pilot group and was ultimately voted down. Now, the tune around here is that OO does not want the Q-400's. JA says they are maintenance hogs. Posturing? Possibly. We'll see.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

It was more than just a few manuals and kicking the tires. A pay proposal went out to the pilot group and was ultimately voted down. Now, the tune around here is that OO does not want the Q-400's. JA says they are maintenance hogs. Posturing? Possibly. We'll see.

JA also said in a recurrent EMB class that he didn't see a future for the CRJ, too expensive.....

 

[WalterSobchak]

JA also said in a recurrent EMB class that he didn't see a future for the CRJ, too expensive.....

It was more than just a few manuals and kicking the tires. A pay proposal went out to the pilot group and was ultimately voted down. Now, the tune around here is that OO does not want the Q-400's. JA says they are maintenance hogs. Posturing? Possibly. We'll see.

Without the ability to expand the 70+ seat fleet, a large turboprop is the only thing that makes sense at this point. With a big enough order, I'm sure Bombardier would be happy to eat some of those downline MX costs.

 

[Erlanger]

Without the ability to expand the 70+ seat fleet, a large turboprop is the only thing that makes sense at this point. With a big enough order, I'm sure Bombardier would be happy to eat some of those downline MX costs.

Learning to Love Props–Again
Back in the 70s, regional airlines began to play a significant role in the national transportation system by flying people from large hubs to small-town airports in rural America. The aircraft of choice was a twin turboprop of modest size, such as the Beech 99 or the Twin Otter, a bush airplane made by de Havilland Canada. Soon Embraer in Brazil was turning out the EMB 110 Bandeirante, and the “bandit,” as many called it, made serious inroads into the market. Many of those first-generation aircraft are still operating in other parts of the world, but not so much in North America.

Those were 19-seat airplanes, typically. But the industry was growing fast, and it began to look at 30-seaters. At the same time, some operators had detected an aversion among the flying public to airplanes with propellers. The turboprops were loud and not as fast as jets, and people would get one look at a twin turboprop parked at their gate and whine louder than the airplane’s engines. It was time to move on to regional jets.

For a regional jet to make economic sense, it has to provide a speed advantage so that the operator can fly more revenue legs on a given day than a turboprop would. If the price of fuel is manageable–and this is the key–the additional fuel consumption of the jet will be at least partly offset by an added couple of money-making trips.

It looks as if we may now be switching from a period where jets served the regional markets to a time when those jets will be parked and the turboprops will come back. Manufacturers like the French-Italian consortium ATR and de Havilland Canada have built turboprop airplanes with more seats and higher cruise speeds. The ATR 72-500, for example, delivers speeds well in excess of 300 mph. When flown on trips of, say, 300 miles, a jet is only a few minutes faster, but burns half again as much fuel. Fuel cost is affecting all airline operators, but the regionals are far more sensitive to operating cost. At the same time, engineers have learned how to cancel the vibrations generated by the propeller tips on the turboprop engine.

In a recent analysis published by AirInsight, a Baltimore, Maryland consulting firm, the company notes that one of the first regional airlines to reconsider its fleet makeup is the largest in the United States—SkyWest. The company has over 300 airplanes in its fleet. Says AirInsight, “The airline has to consider its 159 50-seat regional jets obsolete (given current economics)…We anticipate SkyWest will use a mix of high-speed turboprops and larger [regional jets] as it rationalizes its fleet.”

There are skeptics who believe that oil prices can’t remain high forever. Maybe not, but every time the economic news is favorable, oil seems to rise. With developing nations’ growing energy needs, global prosperity means expensive oil. Regionals can’t hedge fuel with the clout of the major carriers, one of which, Delta, is even in the bidding to acquire a shuttered Conoco-Phillips refinery in Philadelphia. As AirInsight concludes, “Absent a new and more fuel efficient 50-seat regional jet and continued high fuel prices, the future success of the high-speed turboprop appears inevitable.”


http://blogs.airspacemag.com/onair/2012/04/learning-to-love-props–again/