Originally Posted by
Rightseat Ballast
At this point it is strictly a rumor, and one I don't put much value in. Yes, BB has entered into some agreements with smaller carriers like Mokulele and Midwest, but those were attempts to get idle aircraft flying after the Frontier codeshare ended. Right now, there are no idle airplanes on RAH property. RAH would have to purchase new aircraft, and in today's economy it is extremely difficult to obtain the financing needed to acquire multiple aircraft. With the exception of the CRJ's (which were intended as only a short term solution to an aircraft availability problem), RAH purchases all of its aircraft. Yes, a bank owns them until the loan is repaid, but RAH does not lease aircraft from another airline. So, RAH would need to come up with a whole lot of confident lenders in a very timid market for any new codeshare to happen.
In short... unless you are in on the musical chairs game with Delta CRJ-900's, new flying just isn't happening anywhere.
Finanacing is hard to get however I don't believe RAH would have any issues. Plenty of cash on hand, good cash flow, and a great credit rating. The banks still want to make all the loans they can it's just that they have to focus that money on those that have better credit. RAH would not have have those issues. But you're right I don't see where any aircraft would come from.