Originally Posted by CarolinaAngler

I agree and have the same line of thought as you, but as a small business owner I can see an advantage for putting the 'sub-department' company on the market. If I were buying a company I wouldn't want one that came with a bunch of overhead. If I already run a similar company and have these departments in place I would simply boost my current operation. I honestly believe if Delta were to sell Pinnacle, which I'm not sold on that yet, that it would be an asset sale only. Asset purchases are much more lucrative to investors rather than ones that come with a bunch of pieces. Essentially, anyone who buys Pinnacle will buying airplanes and pilots and it will be up to them for when/if they increase to properly managed the newly acquired assets.

Hiring people to boost your operation is no big deal. Start them at the bottom with bottom pay and don't worry about paying a 10 year dispatcher what they're worth.

Think outside the pilot box. Would you want to buy a whole airline, payroll and all, if you already had the departments in place? We see how well that has worked out for Pinnacle and SkyWest.