SkyWest Had Made Hostile $3.50/Share Bid For ExpressJet

[WalterSobchak]

Simply put I didn't become an airline pilot to do charity work, and if SKYW wants me to give in on something as big as my security blanket then they better be coming to the table with something equally as big to offer.....

However, what good is your security blanket when there is nothing for it to secure?

I applaud the contract and your unity (considering the loosely-unified ALPA groups elsewhere, it's kinda nice to see a unionized group "walking the walk" instead of just coming on FI.com and "talking the talk"...on top of being annoying)...but for those pilots who don't really have the option to "do something else and make the same money", what happens to them when this whole deal falls through because you "stood firm" and you all lose your jobs when CAL discontinues XJT's CPA?

I, in no way hope this happens, but it remains a possibility...especially since it is the CAL flying, and not the pilots or airframes, that SkyWest, Inc. is really after. I consider Jerry Atkin to be a good man, and I truly don't believe he will allow himself to be responsible for the loss of so many jobs in the name of "business as usual"...but you never know.

 

[ERJFO]

unfortunately you don't have a choice in the matter. if skywest buys xjet they can pretty much do what they want. if you guys don't want to fly it, asa and skywest will get more crjs and do the flying.

Really, unless we throw away our contract (and we won't) it looks like we're going to have a say in this fight.

I'm no lawyer but, the way this is written reads to me that it matters little to this transaction.

SkyWest, Inc., not SkyWest Airlines, is the company looking to acquire ExpressJet. SkyWest, Inc. is a holding company, not an air carrier. ASA and SkyWest are affiliates of Inc., not the other way around. Therefore, SkyWest, Inc. isn't an affiliate of another air carrier.

SkyWest, Inc. is not looking to acquire another airline on top of ExpressJet and merge them, nor are they looking to merge ExpressJet into SkyWest or ASA...therefore, I don't see where paragraph 3 of the CBA means anything...and if the main components of paragraph 3 aren't an issue, A-D are essentially null.

I need a beer...

The lawers that be may be able to side step CBA 1,3.D:a-d. If that happens it's a good thing we signed Letter 1, I'll paste part of it down below for you.

7. This letter shall be binding upon any successor or assign of Holdings. For purposes of
this paragraph, a successor or assign shall be defined as an entity which acquires all or
substantially all of the assets or equity of Holdings through a single transaction or multistep
related transactions which close within a 12 month period.​

I won't give that up, and it's pretty hard to get around that.

 

[amcnd]

What if SkyWest was still flying E120's in IAH. This would mean that XJT pilots would have to take over that flying according to your contract..(all flying done by the holding company thing) If ASA had the same then ASA would have all the Delta flying. All they want is to put the right airline in the right spot with the right airpanes...

 

[BoilerUP]

I have a feeling XJT pilots would be somewhat less concerned if SKW, Inc. management signed a letter stating that XJT ALPA pilots are entitled to all seats provided by the 205 or so airframes XJT currently operates for CAL (or at least a very large percentage of those).

A single paragraph stating as much would legally preserve all current XJT jobs...and likely remove any resistance to a SKW, Inc. acquisition.

But WTF do I know, I don't work for either company...

 

[ERJFO]

What if SkyWest was still flying E120's in IAH. This would mean that XJT pilots would have to take over that flying according to your contract..(all flying done by the holding company thing) If ASA had the same then ASA would have all the Delta flying. All they want is to put the right airline in the right spot with the right airpanes...

You're right, it's too bad for ASA they didn't have the same thing in their CBA.

 

[WalterSobchak]

7. This letter shall be binding upon any successor or assign of Holdings. For purposes of
this paragraph, a successor or assign shall be defined as an entity which acquires all or
substantially all of the assets or equity of Holdings through a single transaction or multistep
related transactions which close within a 12 month period.​

My head hurts...

...I found a beer, though, and I'm really wishing I hadn't given up smoking.

 

[WAVIT Inbound]

What if SkyWest was still flying E120's in IAH. This would mean that XJT pilots would have to take over that flying according to your contract..(all flying done by the holding company thing) If ASA had the same then ASA would have all the Delta flying. All they want is to put the right airline in the right spot with the right airpanes...

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner! You are all to doom and gloom. All Skywest INC wants is the flexibility to put flying from any major carrier with any of the 3 airlines.(SKW,ASA,XJT) They are huge on being productive. They just don't want to be bound and lose the ability to be productive. They want to be able to put flying with whatever group has the ability to do it most effectively. This could be because geographical location, staffing levels, etc.

A prime example of this is the Freedom flying out of Orlando. It made the most sense for ASA to do this and not SKW. If CAL flying comes available in a certain area or at a certain time they want to have the ability to put it with whichever airline makes since.

So if xjt is bought and wants to be the exclusive lift for any CAL flying under the Skywest INC banner then fine that could go both ways. Expect to lose your Delta flying to ASA or SKW because it is not protected and dont expect to be given any United flying either if it ever becomes available. Be careful what you wish for. You may end up hurting yourself in the end.

 

[ATRCA]

unfortunately you don't have a choice in the matter. if skywest buys xjet they can pretty much do what they want. if you guys don't want to fly it, asa and skywest will get more crjs and do the flying. your other choice is to stand strong and watch your job go right out the window. i'm not saying skywest is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but ask around the pilot group and we're a pretty happy bunch, i suppose it's from all the kool-aid. and for uncle jerry, the man is one smart SOB, he'll get what he wants and has no problem showing anyone the door to get it. he actually is a pretty cool dude. in the long run your probably right, it would be in the best interest to eliminate xjet and put all the flying at skywest or asa, but in the near future you probably won't see much of a change at all, in fact you'll probably like it better, ask the asa guys. these people run a good airline and the people that work here are some of the happiest people in the industry. i guess it all has to do with the kool-aid, but give it a chance, hopefully it'll work out for all of us.

OMG!!!! You might have to spend a 4 day with this cheerleader.

You guys better stick to your scope clause!

 

[drinksonme]

Expect to lose your Delta flying to ASA or SKW because it is not protected and dont expect to be given any United flying either if it ever becomes available. Be careful what you wish for. You may end up hurting yourself in the end.

Funny you said that. I have had the chance to talk with a number of their finance and operations people over the last couple of weeks, Delta and Uniteds' people that is. Both Delta and United have really been impressed with our Training Dept, which I work at from time to time as a part time instructor. They really have some neat ideas for their companies, hopefully they will work. Not sure how we fit into it, but Delta being on property for 4 days was really interesting. United was here for only 2. By the way the Training Dept I speak of is........... XJT's.

 

[Future Furlough]

From reading all the letters on the SEC website, I conclude that basically CAL intends to pull 51 a/c from XJT's flying in June. Then, they intend to not renew their contract by December, which will lead to the flying progressively going away by the end of 2012.

It does indeed seem like CAL very much wants this deal to happen, it is probably just a matter of price now.

Actually, CAL may indeed announce this soon, but they cannot pull any more airplanes for another year and a half, unless they intend to terminate the CPA early. Even then, they can't drop us overnight.

 

[Future Furlough]

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner! You are all to doom and gloom. All Skywest INC wants is the flexibility to put flying from any major carrier with any of the 3 airlines.(SKW,ASA,XJT)

So why not have a single list then? That's got to be easier and more productive than juggling three different entities.

 

[Future Furlough]

And so it begins at the Regional level...............

Some one gets it.

I respect your contract and all the work it took to secure it. But if you're out of work, what good is an industry leading contract?

It's one thing to play tough guy on these forums and then there's the reality of things to come. Reality is you will be furloughed or worst (most likely) the whole place is shut down like an ACA/Independence. Remember them? How's that for an incentive? And who's hiring these day? And if the President and BODs of XJT decide they finally want this deal, they'll get you guys to acquiesce.

Because you may be out of a job if you're not willing to give a little...


Then maybe that's a good option for you. However I suspect there are others who would be willing to compromise in order to keep working. Mind you, I'm not talking about compromising pay. ASA pilots haven't taken a pay cut since Skywest took over. I'm just suggesting some compromise on scope might be worth keeping a job.

How much are you willing to give up to keep a job?
How much does that hurt the profession in the long run?

unfortunately you don't have a choice in the matter. if skywest buys xjet they can pretty much do what they want. if you guys don't want to fly it, asa and skywest will get more crjs and do the flying. your other choice is to stand strong and watch your job go right out the window.

Actually, our CBA is binding to any successor. If we give up scope, there is nothing to prevent Skywest from taking the flying.

..but for those pilots who don't really have the option to "do something else and make the same money", what happens to them when this whole deal falls through because you "stood firm" and you all lose your jobs when CAL discontinues XJT's CPA?

I can't speak for the rest of the pilot group. I'm not interested in doing anything that drags the profession down any more. Many of the arguments presented on this thread suggest that we should do whatever it takes to save our jobs. If the XJT pilot group falls into that thinking, the only thing we will have accomplished is to lower the bar for everyone. I'm not interested in becoming the next Mesa.

 

[Speedtape]

So why not have a single list then? That's got to be easier and more productive than juggling three different entities.

Since you guys will be in negotiations next, why don't you negotiate that single list for us?

 

[Future Furlough]

Since you guys will be in negotiations next, why don't you negotiate that single list for us?

According to a lot of folks around here, we won't be around past Christmas. :erm:

I don't think the folks in St. George are all that anxious to see that. Can you imagine if all 7700 pilots were on one list? That's a big group.

My question is if it's all about flexibility and productivity, wouldn't it be better to operate as a single entity as opposed to 2 or 3?

 

[Future Furlough]

April 7, 2008

Dear Jim and George:

We understand that SkyWest, Inc. (“SkyWest”) has delivered to you an offer to acquire ExpressJet Holdings, Inc. (“ExpressJet”). In connection with your consideration of such offer, we wanted to inform you of our understanding with SkyWest regarding a new capacity purchase agreement (“CPA”) and our intentions regarding our existing contractual relationship.

First, we confirm that we have negotiated a new CPA with SkyWest, which would become effective if SkyWest is successful in acquiring ExpressJet (which, in turn, is subject to due diligence, among other things), and that we would consent to the change of control that would occur upon such an acquisition.

Second, absent our entering into a new CPA with savings of the magnitude we have negotiated with SkyWest, we currently expect to deliver to ExpressJet on June 28, 2008, a notice to withdraw 51 of the existing 205 Covered Aircraft from the current CPA, beginning in December 2009. Further, although we have the right to terminate the existing CPA at any time, we currently anticipate we will not extend the term of the current CPA (which we must do, if at all, by December 31, 2008), and thus the current CPA would simply expire in accordance with its terms beginning on December 31, 2010, with the expectation that all aircraft would be removed from the current CPA by the end of 2012.

We hope this information is helpful to you.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey J. Misner
Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer
Continental Airlines, Inc.

Somehow, I missed the implications of those two paragraphs. Skywest has a CPA with CAL if they buy XJT. If not, XJT can keep their current flying if they agree to the same rates Skywest offered. Talk about arm twisting!

Time for some whiskey. This whole thing is just depressing.:beer:

 

[Erlanger]

]My question is if it's all about flexibility and productivity, wouldn't it be better to operate as a single entity as opposed to 2 or 3?

NO!!!

 

[ERJFO]

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner! You are all to doom and gloom. All Skywest INC wants is the flexibility to put flying from any major carrier with any of the 3 airlines.(SKW,ASA,XJT) They are huge on being productive. They just don't want to be bound and lose the ability to be productive. They want to be able to put flying with whatever group has the ability to do it most effectively. This could be because geographical location, staffing levels, etc.

A prime example of this is the Freedom flying out of Orlando. It made the most sense for ASA to do this and not SKW. If CAL flying comes available in a certain area or at a certain time they want to have the ability to put it with whichever airline makes since.

Thats fine, but put us all on one list with one CPA... Lets combine XJT/ASA/SKYW, vote on representation, then combine the lists - the unions can just arbitrate it out, SKYW can send whoever negotiates for their pilot group and we'll send our ALPA guys... It'll work out.

But I'm not about to vote away our scope (section 1 and letter 1) so that SkyWest can "be productive" and watch them grow at my expense. I would rather be out of work than watch CAL flying be flown by SkyWest newhires while our guys nurse their 4 year upgrades.

NO!!!

What's to be worried about?

 

[10nCLR]

So why not have a single list then? That's got to be easier and more productive than juggling three different entities.

Ooh, No!!!!
3 is better than 1.
Oh, YEaah!!

 

[amcnd]

How about this... UAL and CAL merge and become CAL. Just like NWA/DAL are becoming Delta.. If SkyWest buy Expressjet then "because of your contract" you would have to fly all the old United flying that just became CAL flying overnight with a merger!! SkyWest Inc. Is just doing what they do best..

 

[meanstreak]

Why would Skywest want to buy a company with only 50 seat jets? Aren't most the airlines saying these things don't make money anymore.