Originally Posted by
gojo
Whatever??? You only have one eye open. How about if the airplanes stayed at Endeavor, then Delta has to somehow find a way to staff them. Which is what happened. That's a quicker fix to the financial woes facing the regional industry than your suggestion of waiting 18 months. And if you believe that Delta was not going to use Air Wisconsin as a pawn in their regional whipsaw chess game then you don't know Delta. Delta's intention right off the bat was to get Air Wisconsin to fly them cheaply for this looming "rate reset" with a Skywest/ExpressJet. That's why they didn't want to raise Endeavor's pilot compensation. In the end they decided on alucrative bonus structure. Now others carriers are also offering incentives. So in my opinion Air Wisconsin did this industry a favor by telling Delta to take a hike
So what were the financial terms that Delta negotiated with AWAC that would undercut the other DCon carriers' rates, because it has always seemed that Air Wisconsin can't get any flying because they are too expensive. Also, AWAC management doesn't do anything that won't add to their coffers. Maybe you have the numbers to show otherwise, since nobody else does (at least, anyone who is willing to share them).
Air Wisconsin turned down the flying because of how Delta handles the DCon carriers, and the penalties for non-performance put too much risk on AWAC's financial stake - their making money - on this deal.
I will reassert what I said before: AWAC flying those RJs would not have put a single PCL pilot already on property on the street. As far as getting new talent at any regional, everybody is in the same boat - what is to say AWAC would not have had issues hiring to staff 20-plus additional aircraft? Can anyone ramp up staffing that quickly?