Originally Posted by
Blackhawk
It can cut both ways. If a contract is cancelled you’re assuming airplanes can be shifted at will. It doesn’t work that way. You have to be able to bid on contracts and win them while staying within legacy scope. If you can’t shop those airplanes you still have to pay the leases on them. Or pull a Republic and file for chapter 11 to get out of them. Granted, in their case they couldn’t staff the -145’s. The regional graveyard is littered with companies that owned their own airplanes.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see AW next, but that place has been a dead man walking for a LOOONG time. Nothing against those pilots as they seem like a good group.
however it’s easier for a regional to place aircraft under their own name or score contracts if they front money for aircraft.
Those would be aircraft that mainline can operate under their branding without the financial liability of owning those aircraft.
vs
A regional that has to relay on a mainline carrier to front the money for aircraft for them to operate (See TSH going away) with Skywest scoring new flying with buying new aircraft (AA new deal).