Originally Posted by
goaround2000
Typical response from you. I've noticed that when someone proves you wrong (which is quite often on this forum), you turn and deflect. Why don't you address the points covered in the thread instead?
A few points of clarification:
Skywest bought us, not ASA. Our airline was not in bankruptcy when it was purchased nor anywhere near.
As of the last stockholders meeting, it looks like XJT will be the surviving entity and BTA the surviving certificate, I'm sure given your vast experience you can put two and two together.
Tony doesn't realize that both of our airlines mutually needed to merge. He thinks everything at ASA is hunky-dory without a merger, except that we are presently operating all of our Delta flights at a loss, as was XJT operating CO flights at the time of the merger announcement. Without this merger, we would be in the very same boat that XJT was in.
Part of our 20 year CPA with Delta was that we needed to be the second least expensive Delta Connection operator by the 5th year of the agreement. If the airline was not the second least expensive, we would be paid at whatever rate the second least expensive airline is getting paid regardless of whether or not we operated the contract at a loss. That 5th year anniversary has come and gone, and we weren't the second least expensive, ergo, we are operating the Delta contract at a loss.
In order to bring our costs more in line to return to profitability, this merger was devised. Referencing the CASM between XJT and ASA, XJT has approximately 15% lower costs than ASA (the CASM's were approximately 9.2 cents per mile for ASA and 7.8 cents per mile for XJT). You merge a more expensive company with a less expensive company and voila...ASA's costs fall to a rate that will make the Delta flying profitable again.
Throw in a new 10 year CPA with Continental that returns the XJT operation to profitability, and you have an airline with a pretty good balance sheet.