idlethrust

So what ? Just to be able to bid on that flying??
Its a dual qualification aircraft series , should have done that 10 years ago.
Who says they will win any bids ? Skywest G7 Mesa can all do it for a lot cheaper.
We will see .

squib

Just saying they are being proactive instead of reactive in this case.

idlethrust

No, I disagree. They are being reactive to Kirbys announcement last April / May when he stated the 50 seaters will all but be gone from UA feed system in a year or two.
Thats when they got off their ass and started to make shiidddd happen.
if that announcement wasn’t made by Kirby none of what you see now would be happening.They would be happy with the crappy 200.
REACTIVE.The 7/900 tshould have been added 10-15 years ago in my opinion.

RabidW0mbat

fully agree with this. 700/900 was purely reactive.

Hedley

I’d say that you are more on track. United was selling the Aviate opportunities at XJT right up until the day that they announced that they were going to cut a 145 operator, and any current 50 seat only operator could easily suffer the same fate. Air Wisconsin, like XJT was, seems to be a pretty well run company, but they currently only fly for United, and happen to operate a fleet that does not have a long term future if management meant what they said. The 70/76 seaters are maxed out and already being flown by others. The 700 type could put Air Wisconsin in a position to take the 550’s if GoJet fails, but Mesa and SkyWest already have programs in place and could most likely do it at a cost lower than keeping another regional on the books.

terks43

The 20 “new” 550’s are actually owned by Mesa leased to skywest, then leased to gojet. That’s my understanding of it. Its weird.

I 100% could be mistaken though.

PossibleDeviation

You are mistaken. OO is definitely not leasing them from Mesa

climb150

50 seaters aren't disappearing overnight. United is investing way too much money in C5 to drop them in 2 years. 5 years is a different story and maybe Air whiskey isn't included in the big picture.

I personally wouldn't go to C5 as you will be on reserve for ever and the commute will be killer. I know nothing about whiskey but they have an IAD base which would be ok but not sure how senior it is. As much at G7 is the 3rd choice, living in base is great and nobody knows what's going to happen in 12 months.

mixture lean

While EWR or IAD with C5 would be ideal, they're both senior and all the new hires will be going to either IAH or DEN which is like a 3.5 to 4-hour commute. Furthermore, I've no idea when the next class will be and I don't want to miss what will likely be a busy summer with AW/G7 just to hold out for a potential phone call from C5. On the flip side, their future is more stable/solidified than AW/G7. With AW, I'd probably end up in IAD which is only an hour-ish commute from EWR. And even if they don't ink a deal with UA or AA in two years, then at least by then I'll have enough hours to hopefully get on with an ULCC or a reputable 135. UA could also theoretically transfer the 550's from G7 to AW now that they've added the 700/900 to their cert (should things not work out with them). I'm still very new to the airlines but that's just my thinking.

DarkSideMoon

I tend to agree with this. As long as you think a regional will exist long enough to get what you need out of it, and you plan on a safety net if you miss your jump, long term stability isn’t super important. The goal is to not stay long enough for it to really matter.

Not everyone can get to their preferred major but just about everyone at the regionals can make it to someplace better then a regional.