Originally Posted by
ToiletDuck
Depends on the company's financial situation. I also don't know what it takes to get it's own ticket. Don't they have to apply with the DOT for one?
If they had the money I don't see any reason why they wouldn't. A 737 is much more efficient than a RJ. If they've got routes where they can fill the seats it wouldn't be a bad move.
What do you mean skywest isn't limited to RJ's? Scope clause? They are limited. If they had a boeing flying a route you're saying they wouldn't be taken to court over it? IF they lost the paint on the planes then I understand. But there would have to be a WHOLE LOT of work to be done long before they even thought about expanding to any kind of bigger aircraft. However they haven't and thus are limited in what they can fly.
Thats the key. IF YOU CAN FILL THE SEATS. And fill them reliably day after day. So how are you gonna fill the seats? You're gonna have to fly to bigger cities, right? Don't you think the players in the game already figured that out? There's a reason Southwest makes money hand over fist flying the point to point routes they operate. What XJT is trying to do is fly point to point among small to mid-size cities. Now which do you think is better: to fly once a day with a 737? Or 3 times a day with RJs? From a marketing (passengers chose their carrier based on price first and schedule second) and economic standpoint it makes sense to have 3 flights a day that you have a reasonably good chance filling up versus having 1 flight a day that you would struggle to fill up.
When jumping into a venture like this it makes more sense to start small and invest your money in marketing, building a buzz and a reputation (to quote Jim Ream "pimp this thing out on every corner") than it does to buy a bunch of shiny new airplanes. ExpressJet Airline's goal is not to fly against United and Southwest. They are trying to fly under the radar serving small, under-served city pairs that would be too inefficient for a large network carrier to serve with larger aircraft.