Originally Posted by
Lowfly
Has there been any update from the company on a plan of action? I haven't seen many UCA planes in the air recently either. I know EWR is basically closed but not much is happening in IAD either.
I didn't catch the last company town-meeting but the report from someone who did was basically that they said nothing new. Management, like their peers at every other airline, are simply waiting to see what happens and are positioning the company to react to new flying that is expected in the coming months . The current trends in TSA checkpoint numbers and my own anecdotal experience support that more people are traveling so it's fair to say mainline will be adding more regional flying just as they are adding mainline flights directly in response to demand, as well as their self-imposed 70% maximum load factor requirement.
I operated flights out of IAD the last few weeks and I've seen a marked change there, not only in the terminals but approaching the airport. Potomac is getting slammed at times, just like the old days. A controller volunteered that we were #77 on the arrival into IAD the other day. Commuting back into EWR yesterday I saw an airplane at practically every C gate and many of them were active / lights on or pushing at that time. So things are clearly ramping up.
Although the brain-damaged blue states of the northeast, colluding under Cuomo, continue to deny reality and are keeping their people unlawfully barricaded in their homes and preventing the reopening of businesses, the rest of the country is waking up from its slumber. Vegas is about to light up next week and all the southern states in our routes are open to some extent. I had no problem getting food anywhere and even managed to get a haircut in JAX, though I did have to non-rev there because I did not have that on my schedule this month. Speaking with passengers it's clear everyone is done with the virus and ready to get back to their lives.
Be patient. The recovery is just beginning.