So I have to admit that when it comes right down to it, I don't understand how Gojet taking business from TSA is any different from Skywest taking business from ASA. Can someone explain without flaming?

Good question and it’s really not that easy to explain as frankly I’m not quite sure myself, but this is what I’m thinking…

Skywest and ASA used to be two different airlines and they competed with each other for the “privilege” (lol) of being a commuter airline for a specific major airline (Delta).

One day Skywest bought out ASA however, at least for now, the two companies are kept as separate entities even though they might merge in the future. So in effect, they are still two competing airlines for now even though they both serve under the same umbrella. There are many reasons to why airlines are often kept separate even though they are owned by the same company – from a pure management perspective it is actually a brilliant tactic to pitch several airlines against each other in order to keep the wages down – some examples: DHL: ABX versus Astar. ATA Holdings: ATA Airlines vs. North American vs. World Airways. Republic Holdings: Republic Airways vs. Shuttle America vs. Chautauqua. Of course I’m simplifying things a tad just to make a point here.

With GoJets, in my view, it’s totally different because TSA and GOJets were never two separate airlines that ended up merging. Instead, when the management wasn’t happy with the pilots at one airline it simply “replaced” them by creating a new airline from within. Sort of like when a child misbehaves, instead of dealing with the kid the mother goes ahead and adopts another child so she won’t have to deal with the troublemaker again. I know it’s probably a pretty stupid comparison, but that’s all I can think of right now.

Basically, GoJets’ ONLY purpose was to bypass the whole negotiation process with the pilots of TSA.

The goal of ASA and the goal of Skywest was to get as much flying for themselves as they could because the were simply competitors in the regional transportation market. ...and technically, they are still competitors for now...