Independence Air. Ran CRJs only for 6 months before getting 319s and blew through millions. Also Air Whiskey tried flying CRJs for Air Tran in the mid 90s and lost their shirt in the process and the agreement was discontinued.

Independence started off in huge debt; owed lots of money on equipment and aircraft. Both comparisons you’re talking about were fee for departure carriers with tons of debt. Bad recipie. The Air Tran deal was not a go it alone endeavor, it was a bad CPA, but did stem the bleeding for AW while they reorganized.


Via owns all the aircraft outright, has very very little debt, and is flush with cash. They weren’t flying full. Check the FAA load reports.

AW was FFD, not the same either.

Depends how close to the 5000. They may want to see you right seat for six months if it’s right at 3500 TT. Doesn’t hurt to apply, with 2000 in type you’ve got a good shot at street captain

Mostly past all that, although they have their flashback moments....

It’s a better regional than most in terms of how you’re treated and paid.

Um. Wrong. Independence Air had the highest funding of any startup carrier. The problem is they blew through $125 million in cash until the Airbus got on the property. Once the company got rid of some of the 50 seaters and were down to 12 319s and 30 crjs it was making money, but not enough to overcome the hole Skeen had dug for himself by flying 90 CRJs around by themselves. Skyrocketing fuel prices during 2004 and 05 didn't help either. I worked there. The planes were full after the first couple of months and people in DC loved the airline.

So if you want to tell yourself this will work in an environment where oil prices are going up go ahead. But Fly I, Expressjet, and Air Wisconsin all tried it and eventually had to give in to the fact that the CASMs on 50 seaters just don't work in a LCC or ultra LCC model, particularly when you don't have some kind of narrowbody in the mix to lower overall CASMs.

Good luck. You're gonna need it.

You can’t compare the legacy costs from being a large FFD and trying to create your own branded flying from scratch. Having good investors to get you $125M sounds great but isn’t all that much when it comes with all the opening day debt they all had.
Via has no debt. Their planes are owned outright, not leased. They’re building a brand 1 plane at a time, one route at a time and not trying to fly 90 planes on day one. They’re growing organically, have plans in play for larger planes as the loads increase... $125M isn’t even 1/5th of the cash on hand with zero debt. Doubt all you want. They’re going to do well. E-jets and B737 being discussed as loads grow. Their point to point vacation, resorts and high volume direct routing are working well for them.
Hate all you want, it’s working

By the way, talking about CASM is pointless without first having the revenue to support it.
Hence, a small plane going full all the time doesn’t go broke. It was Robert Crandal that made that comment/observation, and I’d say he knows a lot more about the airline business than either of us.
Continue hating, it’s working for them at Via

TSA is selling MRJ slots too if you want them. They're due in 2020.

Not my decision, but with the mainline scopes those MRJ’s may go cheaper than an E175/190. Something I’m sure they’ll look at; although they are happy with their EMB 120/145’s, at least for now. I think they’re probably looking at some of either the AA or JB E190’s....

For those interested; the Company says competative for the 135 side FO slots on E120 are CME and 500 TT. Expect to be filling positions in fall.

What's their most immediate fleet plan? How many aircraft are they taking per month? New routes?

I'm at a dead-end 145 regional and am intrigued by this home basing. Would this be a good place for someone in my position? Would another local regional or Atlas/Southern be a better idea?

Can anyone comment on the training (where it's performed, quality, etc)?

Right you have no debt because you bought a bunch of worn out EMB 145s and 120s cheap. Makes for less cash up front, but kills you in the long run in maintenance costs. Look I could care less about Via air. Hope it works out for you. But to say nobody ever tried to run 50 seaters in a LCC or Ultra LCC environment is not true. It has been tried and it failed every time. The only way 50 seaters work is to pair them with larger aircraft to spread the costs out over the entire fleet so you can make money. Eventually the costs on 50 seaters will eat you alive without larger aircraft for them to feed.

The Airline industry is littered with the carcasses of management that thought they could reinvent the wheel and succeed with a business model that failed others. Maybe these geniuses at Via air have come up with something that may work. But the odds are they won't. Geez everytime you post I can remember reading what the Expressjet guys were saying, and see Tom Moore in the crew room telling us bigger planes are coming, this is just the beginning, etc, etc. Hell I expect you to start talking about A330s just like Fly I did.

Like I said. Best of luck to you. You're gonna need it.