SkyWest acquisition

[FlyGuy34]

According to the recent article on regional Airlines in USA Today.. SkyWest has 460 million dollars in cash and is thinking about acquiring a regional airline. Anybody know who this target regional might be?

 

[jergar999]

The rumor I heard was ExpressJet. This is only an unsubstantiated, unfounded, rumor that I heard somewhere. I have no facts to support it, and don't remember where I heard it.

 

[jacko123]

My source tells me it is going to be Eagle, with date of hire.

 

[JI Gone OH]

Delta, with a Staple. Yeah, I am pretty sure thats' it...........

 

[CaptainBrazilia]

I've been at SkyWest for five years now, and I can honestly say this rumor comes around every 4 months or so with a different regional tacked on the end.

Believe it when you see it happen. Until then, I'd not sweat it much.

 

[English]

Eagle. Is there a betting pool on this one?

 

[gOOfly]

This article http://www.vibefm.com.gh/news/?cid=2&sid=62 makes me wonder if their interests are a little farther away than IAH or DFW. KIA (ACC) maybe?

 

[ILStoMinimums]

NO kdding here.....
Last week or the week before We (Era Aviation) had an FO interview at SKW. He was told by the CP that they like him, etc, but told him to camp out for a couple of weeks (at Era) untill they get something strait - the CP pretty much told this guy that they are interested in Era and will get back to him.
This sounds pretty crazy, you think this is something that can actually happen? If they were to acquire Era, my guess would be to pretty much get rid of the entire current fleet and replace it with 7-8 Brasilias and operate under the code share Era has with Alaska Airlines. What do you all think - Possible, or IMPOSSIBLE?

Sure would be nice!

 

[FSB99]

anything's possible. xjet tried to buy pinnacle out of the blue, some months back. what i've learned in my short time in this industry is, as soon as you think you've got something figured out, you're wrong.

who knows why any airline acquires anyone. only the bean counters and the guys with the 'big picture' know why they do what they do. we just fly the airplanes they tell us, where they tell us. much less stress that way that way!

 

[embdrvr]

NO kdding here.....
Last week or the week before We (Era Aviation) had an FO interview at SKW. He was told by the CP that they like him, etc, but told him to camp out for a couple of weeks (at Era) untill they get something strait - the CP pretty much told this guy that they are interested in Era and will get back to him.
This sounds pretty crazy, you think this is something that can actually happen? If they were to acquire Era, my guess would be to pretty much get rid of the entire current fleet and replace it with 7-8 Brasilias and operate under the code share Era has with Alaska Airlines. What do you all think - Possible, or IMPOSSIBLE?

Sure would be nice!

Nice work of fiction.
CP's don't do interviews.
Revealing non-public information could be a violation of SEC rules.
If Era is non-union then SkyWest might acquire them though. Nothing is impossible. They used to own Scenic.

 

[Bayoupilot]

You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the US of arrogance, and Germany doesn't want to go to war.


embdrvr, Bravo!

 

[FlyGuy34]

Thanks. pardon my ignorance, but who is ERA aviation...and u mean to tell me Skywest isnt acquiring Great Lakes??? hahahaha

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Nice work of fiction.
CP's don't do interviews.
Revealing non-public information could be a violation of SEC rules.
If Era is non-union then SkyWest might acquire them though. Nothing is impossible. They used to own Scenic.

Well - it may have been not the CP - somebody up in management (interview department for all that it matters).

For those who don't know who Era is, they are a regional airline in Anchorage and fly throughout South Central Alaska and operate under Alaska Airlines codeshare - they also have a base out in Bethel, Alaska where they serve 17 villages.
Fleet consists of 9 Twin Otters, 3 Dash 8's and two aging Convairs which will be gone this year and suppossedly replaced with Dash 200's or 300's.
Era is non-union, something SKW would like I imagine. If they were to acquire us, I'm thinking they'd sell off the BET base to somebody out in the bush and pretty much park the rest of the fleet and fly Brasilias to the 5 destinations Era flys to out of ANC (ENA, HOM, VDZ, ADQ abd CDV).
Anyways I'll stop here - just a rumor and suppossedly Rowan Drilling (current owner) will decide on July 23rd if they are going to retain Era or not..........should be interesting. For those that want more info, go to www.flyera.com or www.eraaviator.com (emplyoee site, but may contain info you can access).

Anybody think the above fiction might have a possibility of becoming a non-fiction?

 

[sleddriver77]

Doubt it. Right now, nobody with any sense would touch an airline up here with a ten foot pole, especially one with many of it's eggs in the BET mail basket. Thanks Mr. Stevens and the RSIA.

 

[blueshoe707]

I'd like to add Air Wisconsin to this puchase pool for SkyWest...


Blue

 

[flap operator]

I think Mesaba is a prime candidate for an aquisition. NW and the pre programmed mgmt team (i'm convinced NW has implanted chips into their brains) that we have at Mesaba have single handedly devalued our company over the last few years from $38/share to about $8 today. Not to mention the cash position and viturally ZERO debt the company holds, IMO makes it a prime targer for an aquistion. The only stumbling block Skywest may have is well, BIG RED and the fact that some groups at XJ are unionized. Our successorship language calls for us to retain our current contract... something Skywest would probably rather not deal with, meaning unionized workers. God help us all is Mesa wants to buy MAIR.

FO

 

[Stick Man]

posted to be flamed

I heard that Skywest is going after US Airways. After all, US Airways is a regional, right?

 

[N8Dogg]

As long as we are creating rumors. I say Mesa!!!!

 

[lowecur]

The World According to Lowecur

Skywest, Mesa, or Republic would not buy any regionals that owned a slew of RJ's. The last thing they need are more RJ's. In another 5 years, there will be at least 500 of these a/c parked in the desert. Of course AMR and DL would love to get rid of their regional carriers at this point, but no one is willing to pay them anything and trying to spin them off in an IPO would be fruitless. Plus DL in on the hook for Skywests CL65's as was discussed on a previous thread.

The next 6 months will be pivotal as a big upheavel takes place. My thoughts are that UAL will not get the ATSB loan guaranty (thus keeping them in bankruptcy for a while longer, and will have to downsize about 20%); UAIR will not get the help they need from all the unions, forcing them back into bankruptcy (asset sale will then procede); DL will file for bankruptcy, as the longer it takes to get an agreement the more Greenjeans will want (I understand he's up to 34% from 30% for the pilots). The eventual failure of ATA will expedite the return of more mailine a/c, thus replacing the RJ on many routes.

If UAL and UAIR need to downsize further (meaning mainline and regional), then Mesa and Republic will probably go the route of LCC startups. The DL situation will dictate what Skywest will do, but a bankruptcy or cutback of Skywest routes will more than likely trigger a return to DL of the CL65's and an LCC startup. I look for all three of these carriers maintaining smaller relationships on a regional basis with some of the legacys.

 

[Russ]

"there will be at least 500 of these a/c parked in the desert"

I'd be careful about latching on to what Boyd has to say about the regional side of the industry.

 

[Rogue5]

re: the world according to lowcur

bloviate \BLOH-vee-ayt\, intransitive verb:
To speak or write at length in a pompous or boastful manner.

 

[Harlequin]

The DL situation will dictate what Skywest will do, but a bankruptcy or cutback of Skywest routes will more than likely trigger a return to DL of the CL65's and an LCC startup.

Some generally good points, but I don't agree with the last supposition. I can't see SKW going the LCC route. SKW's senior management has openly scoffed in the past at ACA's attempt to go that route and has repeatedly said that you can't operate the CL65 on an 'at risk' basis.

The SKW RJ pilots wanted more money to fly the CRJ700...they'll demand it (and rightly so) for anything in the 100-120 seater class. Add in the fact the need to add a third Flight Attendant once you add the 101st seat, plus demands for more money from the Mechanics and you can quickly see the overheads going through the roof.

I suspect that SKW is hoping that it's presence in IAH will provide it with a foot in the door to make a bid for Expressjet when the opportunity arises.

This is, above all, a contract flying company and suggestions of it becoming a LCC are, I believe, without foundation.

 

[Tooslow]

I heard Skywest is going to buy Mesa, and force the pilots to take pay cuts, fly CRJ's for the price of Brazilias...and dumps the union thing because the president makes almost $500,000 a year...

 

[Harlequin]

$500,000?.....$500,000?!.......A couple of million $'s a year perhaps......but $500,000??!!

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Yeah - more like a couple of million!

 

[OtterFO]

ILS,


You neglected to mention the other half of ERA. There are three large rotor bases operating everything from B-206B's to B-214ST's. SkyWest is pretty conseritive with their business. The rotor world is far different from fixed wing scheduled 121.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Fully agree - I'm sure Rowan probably would split the two if the need arises, but then again who knows? Pretty hard to tell what they are doing or plan to do.

 

[lowecur]

Harlequin

Some generally good points, but I don't agree with the last supposition. I can't see SKW going the LCC route. SKW's senior management has openly scoffed in the past at ACA's attempt to go that route and has repeatedly said that you can't operate the CL65 on an 'at risk' basis.

The SKW RJ pilots wanted more money to fly the CRJ700...they'll demand it (and rightly so) for anything in the 100-120 seater class. Add in the fact the need to add a third Flight Attendant once you add the 101st seat, plus demands for more money from the Mechanics and you can quickly see the overheads going through the roof.

I suspect that SKW is hoping that it's presence in IAH will provide it with a foot in the door to make a bid for Expressjet when the opportunity arises.

This is, above all, a contract flying company and suggestions of it becoming a LCC are, I believe, without foundation.

I believe there was a thread a month or so ago where the CEO was in the Denver pilot's lounge discussing the purchase of Embraer 190's for a possible LCC startup. If this rumor is fact, then they certainly are thinking about it.


If the CL 65's are returned to DL, then the existing contract with scope limitations would determine what mgt would do. If rates have been established for a 190 with 100 seats, then that's the way they would go. Not every LCC has to have mainline a/c with long haul capability to survive. If they need to hammer out a new contract, then they would try that before seeking a different OC.


I don't see any regional purchasing EXJ. CAL's future is not sealed in cement, and trying to find a home for 200++ RJ's would be difficult. I see CAL eventually being merged with NWA along with EXJ.

 

[belchfire]

Please add Corporate Airlines to
the list of those to be purchased...
they'd have money to spare!

 

[Ponchus pilot]

The SKW RJ pilots wanted more money to fly the CRJ700...they'll demand it (and rightly so) for anything in the 100-120 seater class. Add in the fact the need to add a third Flight Attendant once you add the 101st seat, plus demands for more money from the Mechanics and you can quickly see the overheads going through the roof.

And exactly how is it that any group at skywest is going to DEMAND things?