See ya Big Sky

[JPAustin]

Big Sky Airlines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MAIR Holdings, Inc., today announced that its east coast operations will cease service at Midnight on January 7, 2008. Big Sky will continue to operate in Montana while it works to transition its services to another carrier. ?? "Our eastern operations were dramatically affected by a combination of unusually bad weather, disappointing revenue and record high fuel prices," said Fred deLeeuw, Big Sky's president. "We have great people who have worked extraordinarily hard, but that factor could not overcome the challenges we faced, and we no longer believe that we can reach sustained profitability."
Big Sky began its eastern operations in April 2007 as a Delta Connection codeshare partner, primarily operating out of Boston's Logan Airport. The decision to cease operations was mutually agreed to by Big Sky and Delta. Customers holding reservations on flights scheduled after the cessation of operations will be contacted by Delta regarding accommodation options.
The jobs of approximately 140 Big Sky employees - primarily located in Boston, Watertown, NY and Covington, KY - will be eliminated. The company has engaged a broker to assist in the sale of the aircraft used in the eastern operations. ABOUT THE COMPANY

So much for the cheapest pilot contract!!!!

What... no response yet??? You freakin' coward.

Big Sky pilots are the highest paid B1900 pilots out there. Even if this is your version of flame for your own sick pleasure, you should be banned from FI. I say we start a poll on whether this guy should be banned!

BTW -- It seems you might be a little biased... hmm... I wonder what carrier flies (or has flown) the Ba146 AND SF-340 AND SA227??? A little disgrunted are we?

 

[Propsync]

Curious, do you think they're dumping BigSky just because they were only purchased to beat on the Mesaba pilots for their contract?

 

[JPAustin]

Curious, do you think they're dumping BigSky just because they were only purchased to beat on the Mesaba pilots for their contract?

I would've thought Big Sky would've been spun off once their usefulness was gone (post TA), but perhaps MAIR kept it in the back pocket until NWA bought Mesaba. But you are right, the Big Sky purchase was done for malevolent schemes to hurt the contract negotiations and scare the pilot group... and it worked.

But that isn't any of the pilot group's fault, this is purely a management being management issue. I've said it once, I'll say it again, managements will always be 3 steps ahead of ALPA and laugh while the pilots point fingers at each other. Kind of like Flightinfo.com (you know there are management lurkers here! )

 

[PCL_128]

Curious, do you think they're dumping BigSky just because they were only purchased to beat on the Mesaba pilots for their contract?

Of course. Big Sky was a money-loser from the day it was purchased. Its entire purpose was to whipsaw the XJ pilots. Now that that worthless POS Foley doesn't have the Mesaba pilots to push around anymore, he has no use for Big Sky. A perfect picture of the moral bankruptcy surrounding airline management.

 

[Propsync]

So is the next move to put the SAAB's over to Colgan?

 

[mvedepo]

Ban him

I vote to ban this idiot.

You don't kick people when they are down. We dont need tools like you in this forum.

 

[Propsync]

Hey Mike, where are you these days? A320? Did you leave Evergreen?

For the record, I don't want it to happen, but I wouldn't be suprised if it did.

 

[mvedepo]

Yeah I left Evergreen after I got full custody of my daughter. Couldn't do the 16 days on anymore so I took a job at Frontier. Still having a great time. Where are you now?

 

[contrail67]

Big Sky To Close, MAIR To Liquidate

By Gregory Polek
December 20, 2007
Air Transport and Cargo

MAIR Holdings announced yesterday that its Big Sky Airlines subsidiary will end all its Delta Connection service on the East Coast as of midnight on January 7. The company will then attempt to “transition” its Billings, Mont.-based operation to another airline, distribute any remaining cash to shareholders and completely liquidate sometime next year, said MAIR president Paul Foley during a conference call this morning. Delta has recruited wholly owned subsidiary Comair to assume responsibility for part of the 16-city Eastern network.

Meanwhile, MAIR has entered negotiations with another carrier, reportedly Cheyenne, Wyo.-based Great Lakes Aviation, to assume control of Big Sky’s Billings-based EAS markets. Foley attributed the decision to shut down to unusually bad weather, high fuel costs and “disappointing” revenue from the Boston-based operation, established in April in an effort to counter losses generated by its Western network.

This is what Paul Foley does - He steps into a company and ruins it. It started with the games he played against XJ pilots by acquiring Big Sky to be an alter-ego. When that didn't go completely as planned he ruined Big Sky with his poor airline management.

Such a shame

Exactly !and that is why it is good that the plan of buying a alter-ego carrier did not work in the end....like I said I am happy this is in Foleys face...but the Mesaba pilots had to negotiate less wages to PROTECT THEIR JOBS!. And yes Foley was gloating that he had the cheapest pilot contract out there at the time. I hope all of you get hired by a better company!...it does suck but we have to put a end to buying alter-ego companies to whipsaw ones in negotiations....PERIOD.

 

[JPAustin]

Exactly !and that is why it is good that the plan of buying a alter-ego carrier did not work in the end....like I said I am happy this is in Foleys face...but the Mesaba pilots had to negotiate less wages to PROTECT THEIR JOBS!. And yes Foley was gloating that he had the cheapest pilot contract out there at the time. I hope all of you get hired by a better company!...it does suck but we have to put a end to buying alter-ego companies to whipsaw ones in negotiations....PERIOD.

Eh, Foley doesn't care one bit. He gets his bonus and options none-the-less because those are a part of his half-a-mil base salary. Foley cares not for anyone below his tax bracket.

I know what Paul Foley does, and it involves wool coats.