Originally Posted by
Lighteningspeed
We shall see. I guess we agree to disagree. I find it interesting that you think 9E will be safe from the CRJ200 chopping block. Granted 9E is much cheaper to operate than XJ but the bottom line is DAL does not keep all the profit from 9E operation. XJ has gotten expensive with the very top heavy pilot roster but DAL gets to keep all the profit. Until some DAL beancounter shows us the number breakdown, you can't make such a blanket statement that DAL cannot do it cheaper inhouse. At any case even if contract carriers can do it cheaper, that saving is wiped out if you have to pay them guaranteed profit per contract.
Some of the things may have been in the making for the past few years or so but the next short term tenure of RA is a different ball game. Different dynamics and economic situations makes it for a different strategy.
I just hope I move on before the next big roller coaster ride.
no i agree. I never said pinnacle was safe from the chopping block. But I can say that them sourcing it out is cheaper than doing the flying themselves. If not they (all airlines) would have stopped years ago and brought everything in house to save money. They haven't and they dont want to. They sold ASA and still gave them a contract to fly because it was cheaper if Skywest took the company and they just paid skywest some money and let them handle running the airline. Comair has had a for sale sign in their front yard for a long time. Remeber Pinnacle was wholly owned by northwest and we were sold off. It cost more to manage, run, and handle the everyday business of an airline than it is to just pay a contract fee and handle it themselves.
How many other major airlines own their own regionals? Is Delta the only one? There is a reason for that.