Originally Posted by
MD80
Republic to fly E190 for Midwest and Delta code sharing for a crew cost of $127 (E190 - CA 90/FO 37) vs. Delta crew costs of $231 (DC9 - CA 143/FO 88)
That's a savings of 45% and it is without benefits!
I am sure that there are cost savings, otherwise they wouldn't do this. But, you do realize that crew labor costs are one of the smaller costs of operating an airliner?
That is a cost savings of 45% of the front-end crew costs, the total of which are a small percentage of the overall cost of the operation. For example, if an airplane costs $3000/hr to operate, and you save $104/hr in crew costs, you are actually saving 3.5%. To determine the financial incentives of Delta going with a regional, you have to know all of the numbers to get a clear picture of the financials.