SkyWest Anouncement

[XPOO]

See, SkyNation, I told you last week about Uncle Rico. Now do you believe me? LOL! jk

 

[SkyNation]

I'm starting to realize that dispatchers and mechanics always know first!

 

[ROSWELL41]

Its too bad, I guess the good jobs in this business will become fewer and fewer if the SWA announcement is true.

 

[capt. megadeth]

I understand what you are saying, but I still agree with the other guy as far as the fact that I'd rather see growth at mainline carriers than regionals. Imagine if all the jet regional flying were done by mainline pilots. Half of all y'all would be making more money at mainline (relatively speaking....I'm not comparing a 10 year Skywest capt. with a 1st year Yonited FO), etc. etc.

That'd be nice, but fantasizing about ridiculously unrealistic business models isn't going to help anything. Deregulation is ancient history.

The unfortunate reality is that SWA has largely covered the markets which support 737 operations. What's left for them is international and small sub-737 towns. They can't take a 73 into Podunk Falls because the competion already uses RJs there...a 73 can't operate economically in a 50-70 seat market even with a SWA paint job. The only way to tap the vast RJ market is...with RJs.

Megadeth, you know better.

 

[Weasil]

You guys who are planning your careers assuming that the airline industry will ever return to what it once was are kidding yourselves. Just look at the price of oil today. Even by conservative estimates oil supplies will dwindle dramatically over the next 20-30 years to the point where demand outpaces supply so significantly that no business model will sustain buying oil to fly airplanes with. No, I think this industry is in for some big changes in the short-term future. Remember US Airways bankruptcy exit plan which was based on a "generous estimate" of $55/barrel? Something will have to give, and I'm betting it's not ticket prices. I even heard a United exec say on tv a few nights ago that they are getting to the point where if they can't raise ticket prices they will have to start parking aircraft.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of a trend toward regional aircraft in the short-term because they burn less fuel. Probably an expansion of the large regional jets is coming - a/c like the EMB190 and that japanese one that is coming out, while the mainline carriers park their ageing fleets.

 

[Gandalf]

You guys who are planning your careers assuming that the airline industry will ever return to what it once was are kidding yourselves. Just look at the price of oil today. Even by conservative estimates oil supplies will dwindle dramatically over the next 20-30 years to the point where demand outpaces supply so significantly that no business model will sustain buying oil to fly airplanes with. No, I think this industry is in for some big changes in the short-term future. Remember US Airways bankruptcy exit plan which was based on a "generous estimate" of $55/barrel? Something will have to give, and I'm betting it's not ticket prices. I even heard a United exec say on tv a few nights ago that they are getting to the point where if they can't raise ticket prices they will have to start parking aircraft.
I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of a trend toward regional aircraft in the short-term because they burn less fuel. Probably an expansion of the large regional jets is coming - a/c like the EMB190 and that japanese one that is coming out, while the mainline carriers park their ageing fleets.

Wouldn't it be nice if that United exec decided to PARK his multi-million dollar bonus and golden parachute in the desert to save the company from parking a/c and screwing "his" employees? Hmmmm..........

 

[jayme]

That'd be nice, but fantasizing about ridiculously unrealistic business models isn't going to help anything. Deregulation is ancient history.

The unfortunate reality is that SWA has largely covered the markets which support 737 operations. What's left for them is international and small sub-737 towns. They can't take a 73 into Podunk Falls because the competion already uses RJs there...a 73 can't operate economically in a 50-70 seat market even with a SWA paint job. The only way to tap the vast RJ market is...with RJs.

Megadeth, you know better.

There's no reason Southwest pilots can't fly those planes. Their management doesn't have any leverage to force the pilots to give up scope.

 

[sweptback]

I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of a trend toward regional aircraft in the short-term because they burn less fuel.

Actually, the fuel burns of an EMB170/190 and a 737 are pretty similar. The difference lies in the crew costs. If there is a shifting of flying to the regionals (and there better not be) it isn't because they burn less gas.

 

[DrewBlows]

I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of a trend toward regional aircraft in the short-term because they burn less fuel.

That would make sense if it weren't completely wrong. Small jets burn far more fuel than larger ones on a CASM basis, which is all that matters. If Delta could fill up an A380 from DAY to CVG they would put an A380 on that route. Unfortunately demand for DAY-CVG doesn't warrant an Airbus.

If an airline really wanted to curb fuel costs it would modernize the fleet by replacing 50 seat RJs with large turboprops and pressure Boeing and Airbus to build a replacement for the 737 and A320 with modern (read: fuel saving) technology. There is a company who is developing a system to taxi airplanes with an electric motor. How much fuel is wasted each year taxiing to and from runways? Anyway the point is there are plenty ways to modernize the national fleet to save fuel costs, but airlines in this country aren't progressive.

 

[ratherbeflyen]

I think it was WN that came up with an idea to use the pushback tugs to drag the plane all the way out to the runway at airports with large delays to save jet fuel and engine run time. The saving was in the millions.