Bond

LOL, no one took anything from express, the flying is Continental flying and management at Continental decided to diversify, maybe you didn't read the 10 or 11 statements they put out about the matter.

I can assure you one thing, no one, not RAH, not XJT, will ever fly 70 seat jets for CAL other than CAL pilots. So for anyone at any company waiting for the E jets...don't hold your breath. That being said I believe the cult leader at RAH expressed his desire to get away from 50 seaters....CAL flying won't be RAH's for much longer either, maybe TSA, maybe SKW, well see.

Now 70 seat props, that's a different story...colgan anyone?

Flyboy8784

Yeah....talk about verbage....i can imagine some colgan mgt puke flipping through the CAL scope and going....."Hey it says 70 seat JETS....doesnt say anything about 70 seat PROPS.

And again.....bigger airplane...same speed as the jet (or close to it) and you can make the same amount of money flying a 1900 or a dash somewhere

HercDriver130

First .....NEVER say never....

Second..... WHO says this flying belongs at mainline.... NOT mainline or they would be flying it.... get a grip this industry has been in constant change for 30 years and will be for the next 30..... HALF the problem is calling companies like RAH...SKW.... et al ..... REGIONAL...they are not regional and havent been for some time..... the industry has changed and you can not nor will they put the proverbial GENIE back in the bottle... does that make it right... who knows... what I do know is what we have today.... and before you flame me I was flying 40 seat turbo props over 13 years ago... when these companies WERE regional in nature...... they arent anymore because mainline and MAINLINE pilots did not want it.......

so MR XJT..... since you hope it puts us all out of a job... I will expect to see you handing in your resignation the day merger goes thru........

SharkyBN584

By "not very long" do you mean 2017 when the contract on the ERJ's is up?

flynavyj

And while i agree that any company that can be seen on either coast, and any pilot that might find himself crossing 2 timezones in a day is not a "regional" airplanes, we seem to be flying "mainline"-esqe airlines, for regional wages....

Ever confuse a 170 for a 737 while taxing in or out of an airport? God knows i have.

seattlepilot

This is turning into an fleeinfo.com type of argument. Original poster asked about DL/NW merger, not what to call an airline like RAH, SKW, etc.
Looking at the latest press releases it's obvious pilot groups from DL and NW have a way to integrate the seniority list from both companies.
There is absolutely no fleet commonality between two operators except 757s. (even at that we have different engines).
So, i am not sure a classic merger would work, but something like US Air - America West type is more likely. Take a look at the regional flying after that merger and you can see that regional carriers operated as business as usual, except Air Wizz which invested in USAirways..
RAH has no exposure to NW and minimal to DL. The regionals that will be effected the most from a potential NW/DL merger are the ones owned by their respective majors. Expect some consolidation on that department, including a sale of one or two.. Both DL and NW will need to raise cash to support this merger and sale of a regional (can you say Comair) would be nice cash revenue..
Also, expect some investment from KLM/AirFrance group on this deal..

Tinpusher007

Actually both fleets of 757's are powered by the same PW 2000 series engine. But I agree with the rest of what you've said. As an XJ pilot, I have often wondered if being owned by NW bodes well for us or not as far as this merger.

Tinpusher007

You've got a lot of pluck my friend, but you're definitely going off the deep end wishing that all regionals go out of business and commuting 1000 miles out of your way for the sake of "pride". But to each, his own. This whole 50 seat jet cat got let out of the bag years ago. But thats not your fault or mine. It is not plausible that any of us RJ pilots will be absorbed into mainline and/or paid $150k per year to fly. That may be what we all know should happen, but its not reality. We all need to make the most of what we have and always try to improve in an effort to uphold the integrity of this industry.

HercDriver130

Well said tinpusher......

Flyboy8784

Your right dude....you guys arent a "Regional"...im not sure if you classify as a "National" or a "Major", but the bottom line is that you guys get paid like the Regionals. Thats what bothers everybody else....you guys are doing much longer legs than us regionals are...but your doing it with more seats and less pay.