Originally Posted by
nicholasblonde
Don't they have the 700s in ORD, though??? Are they 50 seat config with 1st class or what?
There would really be no point for RAH to buyout Eagle. The only reason I would've thought RAH would ever buyout Eagle would be to park a bunch of the 135/145s, and run the more-efficient 170s on the longer-range routes out of ORD & DFW. That won't happen, though, because of AAs aforementioned scope...which I actually agree with. The 170/175 and 900 should be mainline planes...they're practically the size of a DC9. And probably more spacious.
PS> If Virgin were to buyout AE, I'd bet they would immediately try to selloff the AE certificate and planes and push everything into the Executive certificate.
PPS> Everyone can rationalize all they want, but the bottom line will always be that unless you plan on making AE your lifetime career, and unless you plan on making a lateral transfer to RAH or Skywest, it's going to be a longshot (or a long road) to get to a major. As a civilian pilot, you need well over the minimum 1000 TPIC at most places. As for those guys who got on with CAL and DAL with only TSIC, I've heard most of them had internal recs.
Either way, I have plenty of friends chasing that guaranteed base and the carrot of a bright future for AE, but the next decade is going to see 50 seat flying go away (unless it's on a tprop). 50 seats does not work with oil +90/barrel...it's basically a truth.