Originally Posted by
pangolin
Money. Mesa has the airframes. SkyWest doesn't want them. Mesa doesn't want to operate them. They don't have the established infrastructure in place at the bases it'll fly from AND the leases are to UA - UA is paying the lease so it's way more revenue than operating the aircraft.
AW and GJ both have the infrastructure. UA told Mesa they like single fleet airlines. I could see AW getting them or perhaps even some of them. Mesa does not care where they go - but they are not going to operate them. Something drastic would have to happen for that to even be a possibility at this point.
Thanks for the explanation. If GoJet failed, I could see Air Wisconsin getting the 550’s and retiring the 200’s. If they don’t fail, when United decides to no longer renew 200 flying, SkyWest is going to take a big hit, and Air Wisconsin is left with nowhere to go. With scope maxed out for the 70/76 seaters, this is turning into a high stakes game of musical chairs as the legacies start to pull 50 seaters out of the circle. Definitely scary times ahead for lots of people, and not just the pilots.