Originally Posted by
2StgTurbine
Others could, but they would have to prove to United that they are on the verge of bankruptcy which would cause their stock to drop.
Colgan is in a unique situation because they are the only large Q400 operator. It would take a lot of time and money to start a new Q400 operation at another carrier (or expand their current one). Also, I doubt any carrier would match our current price. If a CRJ or 145 operator tries to get more money from United, it would not be too difficult for United to give that flying to another RJ operator.
Our current price? You mean the one that is running at a full loss? We cannot sustain this long term.
In the end it does not matter. Our fate was decided a long time ago and nothing we can do can change the outcome. In the end we lose. SM is not going to surprise us and announce he was joking and we are getting 15 more Qs and everything will be fine. If we do get more aircraft I am sure it will come with some sucker-punch to offset any possible positive outcome for the pilot group. Remember, management has a lot more control than us and they nearly always get what they want. A win for any pilot group is usually just maintain the status quo, or an outcome that ends up being slightly better than it could have been. We mare merely pawns fighting a lopsided battle.
I think you'd be out of touch with reality to think we are getting more airplanes. Menke and new management have already turned down flying and not bid flying contracts because they needed to clean house first, as in the merger, 11-09, and one list. We are pawns in the game of chess, but our strategic position (which is terrible by the way) is 70% due to union actions on the merger itself. A bunch of chest thumping, greedy self-interest actions and disagreements led us to where we are today.