Hey all of you that have issues with this, go volunteer at your LEC. Run for FO rep etc. It is the only way it will change.

 

If economic times were good I think the cseries might have a chance, but right now I think it has no chance for making it to production. Too much headwind in credit, orders, and competition from proven frames (A319/737/EJets) that are desperate to sell and desperate to keep a 4th competitor from encroaching in on both the market in general and the worlds largest airline.

I think Bombardier's ace is the Q400. They ceased production on the Dash 8-200 and 300 series but I wonder if a 50-seat version of the Q400 might find success. I wish DCI had Q400s out of NYC/BOS. We used to try and get ERJs back and forth from ORF/RDU to EWR at 10,000 to circumvent ATC delays, I'm sure a Q400 would be better.

 

Okay, flame me, but I'll say it... Compass, flow through, small now, hired by former NWA pilots, etc., I would staple them and bring their airplanes in to ML even if it is at a rate lower than the DC9 just to have them (76 seats) here. Although I think we should still have a 50/hr base rate for newhires to start from.

Current Rates
DAL9A DAL9B Compass A / B
Year 1 133 52 Year 1 61 24
Year 2 134 72 Year 2 64 34
Year 3 135 84 Year 3 66 36
Year 4 136 86 Year 4 68 38
Year 5 137 88 Year 5 70 39

Fine Print: For now, we can get pay raises for it later. We should never compromise on pay and of course this could be another Delta Express, but I'm fine with that. Quick upgrades, mass expansion of 76 seaters on our side of the fence, etc.

 

I recall that Lufthansa is the launch customer for the C-series. It was announced at the Paris Air Show.

Plus, they need a new jet, and we all know that the CRJ 1000 is not it.

 

Amen to that. I just rode a CRJ900 the other week and thank goodness it was in first class. It made the MD88 look stubby.

 

I agree 100%. I've often wondered why that plane has never really caught on in the US. The turboprop aversion factor that was alive in the mid 90s is gone now. It is a highly comfortable airplane that just happens to be highly efficient as well.

 

The CRJ1000 is a bad idea. The cseries is a good idea but I remember Embraer saying they didn't want to venture into the over 110ish seat market because Boeing and Airbus are so entrenched. Bombardier is trying, more power to them.

But as to the cseries, I did a googlenews search and Lufthansa hasn't "commited" enough I guess, the firm order was a letter of interest but it looks as if Lufthansa doesn't commit soon they may be forced to shelve it for the second time from what I gather.

Bombardier is rather open about their surprise in the lack of interest in it. I guess after the fuel prices shot up they relaunched the program after being shelved for a lack of interest the first time, but now prices are low, airlines don't have money or credit, suppliers probably don't have credit either and interestingly enough there is a confidence issue with it. They say the A380 and 787's development problems has caused airlines to lose confidence in new aircraft designs and I guess the cseries is going from some new "risky" technology as well.

I didn't know a firm order wasn't a firm order wasn't a firm order, thats new.

 

I agree. I think it would be great to capture that flying back to the major, and giving in on the pay rates is nearly a necessity to keep it cost neutral for Delta. You can always argue the rates again later when you have the flying back (and the scope to keep it).

 

I wonder how its working out for Continental. They have 15 of them running out of EWR. They're fast, efficient and look fantastic and I'm sure they can pull up to a jetbridge which evidently to some pasengers is the only difference between a jet and a prop.

From what I've heard Horizon ran a "race" of sorts between a Q400 and a CRJ700 on like a typical route and the 400 might have won, or barely lost, I think it was close. Kind of like Ditka vs. God in a footrace, who wins? God, but its close.

 

When my former airline looked at the Q400, the issues were:

• Big Airplane, takes similar ramp space as a 737-800. Doesn't fit up to a jetway easily.
• High fuel burn compared to an ATR
• Maybe not as good a deal as the RJ's, since the manufacturers were finding financing

The ATR has unbeatable efficiency and IMHO was World's better than an RJ at the mission it was intended for.