DL/NW merger & wholly owned regional
 

Mesaba will be gone. Compass may likely stay. Comair will probably be sold. Pinnacle has enough cash right now that they may buy Comair just to stay in the game. Either way, I would look for DAL to start putting the screws on SkyWest to get their performance back on track or risk Mesa like actions to follow.

BTW, is your Avatar a recent photo of John Cougar Mellencamp?

The answer has been partially answered on the webcast. Looks like Mesaba and compass will be fine but consolidated.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....ventID=1770601

No, thats a picture of me, WHY? :D

Brings a new meaning to "Hurts So Good".

R.A. seems to think otherwise. By many indications, Mesaba is not going anywhere. Where did you get that info from?

It truly depends on the language that is set forth in your contracts with the parent company. CMR does not have one and is likely liquidated, or beefed up and sold.
Mesaba and Compass are different animals all to themselves.

I've heard many people speculate that we are one of the safer regionals in this whole thing. So if anyone has heard anything to the contrary, I would like to know. Just want to gather info ans sources.

We are safe today...we still have jobs. Tomorrow is another story. Just keeps those logbooks and resumes up to date. ;)

The fifties are going to get parked more and more. The 70-76 seater are capped, hope that helps. More of the routes, according to DALPA, will be up-gauged to larger ac.

I hope you're right!

It looks like this merger will affect more than just wholly owned regionals but others as well. What the new DAL will do with Comair is a big unknown, but it is very possible from what Anderson has been saying for the past year, they will reduce the number of regionals flying for them and distribute the domestic flying among fewer regionals before the European carriers such as Air France and Lufthansa or British Airways tries to dig themselves in for the share of the US domestic market.

Like Superpilot said, it looks like Mesaba and Compass may be slated to pick up some of that flying, and they are already doing it. Mesaba Compass Holding Corporation has already been formed. After the merger though, I seriously doubt the current management team for the Compass remaining intact. Anderson will probably replace both the Mesaba and Compass top management. Problem with Compass is their most senior pilot was hired in 2007. This according to a senior NWA CA I talked to has a host of problems with insurance when flying into special airports.

Which regional will fare OK and which ones will fade away is still a speculation at best but I believe a rough forecast can be made based on currently available information. I am not going to name which regionals looks like will be minimized for obvious reasons and it would not do any good for anyone at this point.

I do agree that the smaller RJs such as E135s, E145s and CRJ200s being phased out by the new DAL because they are no longer economically viable when the barrel of oil is $115 and projected to climb higher. A big and touchy subject on most people's mind is the scope clause. I hope the scope clause remains intact but I don't know if it will or not.