Originally Posted by
Andy
Let me just toss this into the mix...
With the company now offering 50 hour SRL lines, the cost of operating 737s and 319/320s just got cheaper and may be cheaper to operate than RJs. In order to operate those additional flights as mainline, it will now cost the company 73 hrs for pilots to fly it vs 50 hrs for pilots to do nothing. That means the marginal additional mainline pilots cost 31% of what they used to.
You can bet that Scott Kirby is calculating the cost comparison using various formulae.
I wouldn't be surprised to see United shed some RJ contracts soon, whether or not they opt to use mainline aircraft on RJ routes.
You realize that the problem is the other side of the equation, right? Revenue has fallen off the cliff and whatever reduction in manpower costs really don’t matter if revenue drops to near zero. I trust the MEC to understand the landscape and negotiate temporary reductions - if needed. It’s disingenuous to think that this isn’t a fight for the future of the company, and I expect that nobody is gonna like what’s coming. That said, no blank checks.