When is Silver going to upgrade to 2022 technology and replace the ATR fleet with E175’s

 

As soon as they ink the FFD deal with Alaska.

 

All regionals are hurting, no doubt, but yeah, everyone has shiny jet syndrome. Can't blame 'em. I'd say the only attractions for SIL are easy day trips, Florida living (or San Juan if you want the Caribbean experience), and now a pretty decent payscale.


With the current route structure, it would never happen. E175s wouldn't make a dime on these short routes. Turboprops sip on fuel and have always made more economical sense on these short hops. Only way SIL is getting shiny jets is if management can ink a deal with a major and have them finance it. Even then, majors aren't looking to sign more regionals. Quite the opposite. In the meantime, I'm sure SIL management and investors wouldn't mind a larger regional buy out and merger.

 

The ATRs are brand new, so probably newer than most 175s

I know what you're getting at but the routes are short and I'm sure they looked at all their options when they dumped the Saabs.

 

Thanks for that good info and congrats on the announced pay & financial incentives! So how does it work with no overnight trips on the PAX side as far as days off are concerned . . . like do you get back to base late at night and are expected to fly the next morning after the min. required rest period? Or is it a one day on one day off type of deal?

 

Not 100% sure about the new pay scale being decent enough to fully compensate for the cost of living in AFW, FLL, or TPA nowadays though . . . if their ops are not commuter-friendly then they may need to offer some sort of housing incentive as well.

 

Well, trips vary from 1 to 5 days. Some days you might have a short out and back flight on one day where you have. Other days you might start your flight at 7am and have 5 legs and end later in the day. So it really varies. Just like any other airline, you bid for the line you want and based on seniority, then at the end you can make adjustments/trades. In my honest opinion, Silver isn't a great idea for commuters, but for people that live near their domicile (like myself, with a wife and kids) it's great because I get to come home and sleep in my own bed at the end of the night (in most cases).

 

Rumor is they are looking at E190/195. Big price tag, but would open up a ton of options and would bring in more investors.

Don't know about Alaska, but deal with AA seems to be pretty solid once the company can get enough pilots onboard

 

Yes, regional pay across the board, no matter how you spin it, will never be sufficient at least in the right seat. But that's by design. If you're able to bypass the regionals through 135 or 91 flying, you could get on with one of the LCC/ULCCs that have plenty of bases in Florida and better pay in the long run.

SIL day trips is the incentive to live in base and be home virtually every night (day if based in AFW). If day trips aren't your thing, all good, but the only other regional in Florida is Envoy out of MIA. They've got a 4 x hotel room per month and schedule flexibility six times per rolling 12-month period, if you have difficulty during your commute. GoJet and CommutAir also offer 4 hotel rooms per month. Not much, but better than nothing. Can't really think of any other regional that offers some sort of housing aside from a call-in honest commuting policy. At Endeavor Air, positive space travel is currently offered to all pilots when commuting to their base to report to work. In the end, commuting is a quality of life killer (adding more time away from home), at least at the regional level. Avoid it if you can. But understandable if you're tied down to your current locale due to family, spouse/partner job, etc. You're better off trying to get on with a 135 outfit that has homebasing/gateway bases (and better pay) like FlexJet, NetJets, XOJET, etc.

 

Endeavor PS is both to AND from work. AKA round trip commuting