XJ to Operate as USAir Carrier

[CptMurf]

Apparently out of LGA with SF340. Frets to come shortly.

 

[SEVEN]

December 20, 2010
Fellow Mesaba employees:
When we announced Mesaba’s acquisition by Pinnacle Airlines Corp. in July, one of the
benefits we intended to realize was the return of Saab aircraft to our company’s
operation. Last year, Delta Air Lines made the decision to move to an all-jet fleet;
however, the leadership teams at both Mesaba and Pinnacle were confident there are
other markets in which we could continue to successfully operate the Saab.
Today, I am pleased to announce that Mesaba plans to enter into an agreement with US
Airways to begin Saab 340 B+ operated flights from New York’s LaGuardia Airport,
beginning in March of 2011. We will initially operate three lines of flying with one spare
aircraft, and add three additional lines in April. Currently, we are scheduled to provide
service from LGA to Ithaca and Syracuse, New York; Providence, Rhode Island;
Charlottesville, Virginia; Manchester, New Hampshire; and Washington-Dulles.
This plan allows us to begin recruiting additional maintenance personnel and flight
attendants immediately. We will also establish a crew domicile at LGA for flight crews as
well as a Mesaba maintenance station at that location.
Beginning in January, we will begin taking delivery of seven aircraft that Mesaba
previously operated – numbers 402, 407, 412, 413, 414, 416, and 418. When we receive
the aircraft, they will be painted in US Airways livery and will feature the same interior we
recently installed as part of our refurbishment program. Our Technical Operations
department will begin the process of readying the aircraft for service – performing
inspections and checks, and installing necessary manuals and emergency equipment.
Today’s announcement is excellent news as we are able to welcome new employees,
expand our service offerings to a new carrier, and enter a new period of growth at our
airline. As we have stated, this is another example of Mesaba’s newly gained ability to
explore opportunities and to secure our own future. In the meantime, we have much work
to do, and will provide more information about this announcement as we get closer to
initializing service.

 

[BoilerUP]

LGA-CHO...isn't that a Piedmont domicile?

Ouch!

 

[MACH-TUCK]

Interesting...I guess I would call that good news!! I just wonder how many XJ guys are going to want to be based in LGA??

 

[v1valarob]

Interesting...I guess I would call that good news!! I just wonder how many XJ guys are going to want to be based in LGA??

Once they merge 9L and XJ, they won't have issues filling spots in LGA. In fact it will go super senior.

 

[OPECJet]

LGA-CHO...isn't that a Piedmont domicile?

Ouch!

Yeah, but Colgan flew it forever.

 

[Kaman]

CHO-LGA has been a Colgan route for a number of years, and Piedmont has also flown it off and on in the last year while the managers figure out who to have doing it on a more permanent basis. Hopefully, PNCL will be able to find more homes for the SAABs that are programmed for retirement 2011-2012. As someone mentioned above, LGA will go VERY senior once the TA/SLI is completed. There are going to be more than a couple of "Q" folks that are going to wish that they stayed the course a little longer on the SAAB.

 

[v1valarob]

Yeah, but Colgan flew it forever.

Then Piedmont took it back over, the over the summer 9L did it, now it's back to PDT.

I don't know if they still have a base there. I think they have 2 RONs in CHO.

 

[sucit]

CHO is a PDT base, and so is LGA. It makes perfect sense to give the LGA-CHO route to Mesaba. HAHAHAAHA, PDT mgmt is such a joke, LGA guys are going to freak out and rightfully so. FU%* PDT!

 

[kf4amu]

CHO is a PDT base, and so is LGA. It makes perfect sense to give the LGA-CHO route to Mesaba. HAHAHAAHA, PDT mgmt is such a joke, LGA guys are going to freak out and rightfully so. FU%* PDT!

Do you really think PDT has any say on where we fly? Hell no we don't...we don't make the schedule. Theres nothing management can do except bring it up to USAir people...and then USAir runs the numbers and does it anyway and goes bankrupt again.

Which begs the question...what the hell does our management do anyway?

 

[ex j-41]

Parker should have ridden on a Saab before he made the decision. 20 min is too long in that thing. But i do think they look like fun to fly.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

Are you kidding? They are more comfortable than either a CRJ 200 or the Emb 135/145 and quieter than the back few rows of a DC-9/MD-80 or a B-727

 

[OPECJet]

Do you really think PDT has any say on where we fly? Hell no we don't...we don't make the schedule. Theres nothing management can do except bring it up to USAir people...and then USAir runs the numbers and does it anyway and goes bankrupt again.

Which begs the question...what the hell does our management do anyway?

They ignore the contract. That's about it.

If this isn't a wake up call to bail from the sinking ship that is Piedmont, I don't know what is. Tempe had a great opportunity to add / replace aircraft at Piedmont and didn't, but did sign on another contract carrier (even if it's the Colgan Connection).

 

[Sig]

They ignore the contract. That's about it.

If this isn't a wake up call to bail from the sinking ship that is Piedmont, I don't know what is. Tempe had a great opportunity to add / replace aircraft at Piedmont and didn't, but did sign on another contract carrier (even if it's the Colgan Connection).

Howdy, OPEC! How's the family!

At any rate, calm the heck down, y'all. Colganus was subsumed by the PCL borg, then revamped as Mesaba (the turboprop operator). There's absolutely nothing new here, just a new name. Saabs aren't new, the routes aren't new, the swap to an at-risk carrier isn't new... what remains to be seen is, well, in the domain of who gives a rat's arse. Get your resumes ready while making more $$ to do so. How hard is that?

If there is one thing that proves we are screwed? That would be our kill rate, not pay rate.

Flame on. The facts remain.

 

[MikeSF340]

The Saab is not quieter than a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant. What are you talking about?

 

[Sig]

The Saab is not quieter than a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant. What are you talking about?

Um, Huh?

 

[UnstableAviator]

My only turboprop experience prior to airline flying was in a King Air, and when I first rode as a pax in a Saab I couldn't believe the noise level. I mistakenly assumed that most turboprops were as quiet as the might BE9L. Doh!

 

[fowingman]

yea lga and cho are both pdt domiciles,,, and yet xj is flying that route

 

[WMUSIGPI]

You have clearly never spent any time in row 26 of a DC95 or if you want to keep it to turboprops, you have never sat in a Jetstream 31 or a BAE ATP. I'd bet the Turbo Commander and Garret powered King Air are just as bad as well. Then again I make sure even if I am in row 1 of the A320 I wear earplugs if for nothing more than the noise of the passengers being deafening.

 

[Sig]

You have clearly never spent any time in row 26 of a DC95 or if you want to keep it to turboprops, you have never sat in a Jetstream 31 or a BAE ATP. I'd bet the Turbo Commander and Garret powered King Air are just as bad as well. Then again I make sure even if I am in row 1 of the A320 I wear earplugs if for nothing more than the noise of the passengers being deafening.

About 4:30, then again, it is raining.

Seriously- I CAN'T HEAR YOU.

 

[OPECJet]

Howdy, OPEC! How's the family!

At any rate, calm the heck down, y'all. Colganus was subsumed by the PCL borg, then revamped as Mesaba (the turboprop operator). There's absolutely nothing new here, just a new name. Saabs aren't new, the routes aren't new, the swap to an at-risk carrier isn't new... what remains to be seen is, well, in the domain of who gives a rat's arse. Get your resumes ready while making more $$ to do so. How hard is that?

If there is one thing that proves we are screwed? That would be our kill rate, not pay rate.

Flame on. The facts remain.

Business as usual here, Sig. Puking kid tonight, but he seems fine now.

You're right about all that stuff. My point is Tempe could give half a load for what happens at PDT. Hopefully I'm wrong and something good will show up, but the magic 8 ball isn't saying much positive. Then again it told me Netjets was a good career move.....:laugh:

 

[30West]

FWIW, 9L flew CHO-LGA as a branded route long before they had any mainline affiliation.

 

[WSurf]

Business as usual here, Sig. Puking kid tonight, but he seems fine now.

You're right about all that stuff. My point is Tempe could give half a load for what happens at PDT. Hopefully I'm wrong and something good will show up, but the magic 8 ball isn't saying much positive. Then again it told me Netjets was a good career move.....:laugh:

Now worries! LGA will close and TPA and JAX will reopen!!!

 

[zasca]

LGA may stay open since we still have a few cities left. Hell, maybe it will go back to the days of only out and backs like BUF/ROC, ORF/BWI, BTV/PWM... Back to 17 days off and blocking 7+ hours every day! Steve Farrow said it would be positive, right? RIGHT? RIIIIIGHT?!?!?!

No... Because even though we give back flying left and right, we can't squeeze in one measly RON in this forsaken place? Whatever happened to the mythical 3 planes we were looking to buy? They wanted "above market" rates? That doesn't make sense! They ARE the market, and thus set the price you chicken heads. It ain't 1986 anymore, its called inflation...

I love how ask piedmont says that the lga flying issue was still up in the air, and a fluid situation, on SUNDAY. Mesaba issues the press release on MONDAY. Management doesn't seem to have the stomach for it's biannual Xmas base reduction message this year. Oh wait, they're probably waiting till friday, my bad!

 

[WSurf]

LGA may stay open since we still have a few cities left. Hell, maybe it will go back to the days of only out and backs like BUF/ROC, ORF/BWI, BTV/PWM... Back to 17 days off and blocking 7+ hours every day! Steve Farrow said it would be positive, right? RIGHT? RIIIIIGHT?!?!?!

No... Because even though we give back flying left and right, we can't squeeze in one measly RON in this forsaken place? Whatever happened to the mythical 3 planes we were looking to buy? They wanted "above market" rates? That doesn't make sense! They ARE the market, and thus set the price you chicken heads. It ain't 1986 anymore, its called inflation...

I love how ask piedmont says that the lga flying issue was still up in the air, and a fluid situation, on SUNDAY. Mesaba issues the press release on MONDAY. Management doesn't seem to have the stomach for it's biannual Xmas base reduction message this year. Oh wait, they're probably waiting till friday, my bad!

LOL, they never said above market value for an airplane. They said Market Value, but once they find the planes they sit back and look at it and look at it. So while US Airways does the reseach JoeBlow from South America comes along and buys it. LOL.....
I think the bottom line is that US Airways doesn't want to invest anymore money into its regionals. Thats why they got Mesaba in for the extra lift they needed. You'll see our Dash's moved to PHL and CLT for more support of its 2 biggest hubs.
They are trying to hold on to cash for another merger. Which is crazy since they haven't even completed the first one.

But sometimes you gotta spend money to make money! Fuel is going up again so the TurboProp will be here to stay. Its just a matter if Piedmont will be doing it or not.

 

[Sig]

So this one time I was walking down the street, back to the hotel on a 20 hour overnight. I was unsober, but I was with the fo so I felt reasonably sure I'd find the hotel again.

Lo and behold, there was a pile of dog feces on the sidewalk.

I picked it up, held it out to the other guy, and said- "Look what I almost stepped in!"

The damned kid laughed and called me a regional captain! What hubris.

 

[Snaab]

...CHO-LGA was my favorite Saab route!

 

[no1pilot2000]

I have two questions:

1. How many regional airlines exist in the U.S.?

2. Of these regional airlines, how many fly on behalf of US Airways , Delta, Continental, and etc.?

Thank you.