Originally Posted by
BoilerUP
I've read the TA.
While it does say "US Airways Group commits to ALPA...Group shall place no less than thirty (30) 71-90 seat jet aircraft on the PSA operating certificate" upon the passage of LOA 4, there is absolutely zero language mandating that those be growth airframes.
Given that the specter of expiring leases was used to help sell LOA4, what makes you so confident Group will renew those expiring leases AND add "no less than 30 71-90 seat jet aircraft"?
Put yourself in management's shoes: they can completely and totally fulfill their LOA 'commitment' by adding 30 900s while ridding themselves of your entire -200 fleet...which they could do before this LOA, and can still do after. As previously mentioned that would result in a net loss of airframes...and Parker has made his dislike of 50s rather clear over the last few years.
Will Group do that to PSA? Nobody knows. But there's nothing that says they can't or won't, if it is financially advantageous for them to do so.
Agree that the language is less than solid but at this point in time(for the next 5+ years) Airways needs 50 seat feed. We have literally the newest 200s in existence at PSA.
Airways isn't going to shift that flying to a more expensive carrier, like Whiskey, just for the sake of saying "gotcha" to PSA.
The leases are so dirt ass cheap on our 200s that Airways even now makes money on them.