Big news at Mesa?
 

Alright, since I am contemplating leaving very soon, I really want to know what this big news that will be anounced this month will be. We have heard that Air Midwest has a bidder and will be sold to some other operator? Of course no one seems to be able to provide any proof of this but maybe someone else has heard something. I know J.O. has been thinking of ways to ditch the B-190's for some time.
Maybe he is quitting....nah I'm never that lucky. :rolleyes:

In my humble opinion and with no disrespect to the Mesa guys on this board; Mesa as we know it will not be around in a couple of years. I say they keep about 50% of the domestic flying tops, and the rest of the frames go to China...without the pilots and without the unions.

Harsh reality, but getting rid of the 1900's will only be the first step.

It might sound strange but MOST of the pilots at Air Midwest are hoping they sell the company. Some want to be freed from seat locks, others want to be freed from contracts, others just have to sit back and smile and hope that the light at the end of the tunnel means the end is near. I personally have no contract but it doesn't matter since I am on my way out anyways but it is nice to know that if you were stuck at least you could slide over to the left seat of a Dash or into one of the RJ's if your seniority could hold it.

I guess some of my co-workers are saying that Ornstien has made comments about having a deal in place on his CEO hotline...I just have never been bored enough to listen to that guys voice for 20 minutes.

Rumors, all rumors, but...

Some say that Great Lakes is looking for more 1900's. Perhaps we've found them at Mesa.

Good luck with moving on, Xtreme!

One more thing for all you EAS guys and gals
 

I also noticed this information about the possible removal of funding from MOST of the EAS routes by next year. This would virtually stop all Air Midwest flying anyways. Many of these airports are not ours though so it might affect some of you Lakers or Big Sky ppl as well. Here is a link to the list of city's that would lose funding under this new legislation.

http://www.regionalaviationpartners....tiveUpdate.pdf
Happy reading...or weeping which ever it might be.

Wow, those of you who don't think this is big news wake up, it is.

They expect people to drive 4+ hours to catch a flight? GET REAL!

This could be the loss of 1000's of jobs. Just when I think this administration couldn't screw up anymore, they surprise me.

4 More Years!

I know this is not a political forum so i won't go on a rant, but how far up their @ss is this administration's head. It's really starting to go beyond anger and getting to the point where you are simply disappointed that we are letting it get this bad. That move to Brazil is looking better by the day.

The airport official who handles EAS where I work says not to worry, they have been seeing crap like this for 20 years. She seems to think the Democratic congress will not let this happen.

Please see this post about EAS. In particular, click on the link and scroll down to the article on EAS. It is the 3rd article down the page. It is a great read!! EAS NEEDS to be changed.

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/showthread.php?t=9785

Great article. Although what it really shows is that we have a government not really in the business of doing the right thing and willing to work towards a real solution.

1900 D's going to MAIR (Big Sky) and Colgan on lease back. Both Northeast operators now. Air Midwest (Mesa alter-ego) folding because (Midwest Airlines) bringing on SkyWest to fly 50 seat CRJ's. Current Skyway routes utilizing the 1900 D routes will be flown with the Do-Jet for the short term, then phased out and replaced with Skywest EMB-120's.(Brasilias). Routes flown as Midwest NOT Skyway.

Colgan leased some 1900's to Air Midwest? Didn't know that.

If you want to go there.... back when I was a 19 FO at ZV.... over two years ago now... the rumor was the 19's were going away by the end of summer and Mesa would be out of EAS.... while the FL system did go away and from what I understand the PIT system has been way downsized since I was flying in it.... the 19 is still going somewhat strong... food for throught..

I don't agree with that chart. The distance shown is distance to the nearest MAJOR HUB airport. It should show distance to the nearest airport with scheduled airline service.

Think about it. If you live in an EAS city, you fly from the city to the HUB, and then connect. If you live in Visalia, California, you drive 40 miles to Fresno, CA, hop on a flight, and then connect. No one would drive 178 miles to Burbank, CA just to do the same thing.

I don't know the east coast communities that well, but I know of these communities in the west:
Pueblo, CO - 40 miles to Colorado Springs (plenty of service)
Visalia, CA - 40 miles to Fresno (plenty of service)
Merced, CA - 40 miles to Modesto (some service)

All are shown as a distance of 150+ miles in the chart.

In my opinion, we need to look at EAS and look at a few things. If all of the following are true, the town does not deserve EAS.

1. How far is it to the nearest airport with scheduled airline service? You don't need to drive Pueblo to Denver to catch a flight. You don't need to drive Visalia to Burbank to catch a flight. If the nearest usable airport with scheduled airline service is within 60 minutes, it may not deserve EAS.

2. Is there a major interstate highway connecting the town with that airport? If the answer is yes, and it is still within 60 minutes, it may not deserve EAs.

3. Load factor. Does the volume of people who use EAS justify service? Pueblo, CO has 3 daily flights on B-1900's with a 28% load factor, or approximately 15 people per day. I think there needs to be at least 50% load factor or at least 30+ people per day using the route.

If the nearest airport with scheduled airline service is within 60 minutes, there is a major interstate highway connecting the two airports, and the load factor is both under 50% and the load is less than 30 people per day, YOU DO NOT DESERVE EAS. Cut funding to those towns. Do not cut funding to towns that need and depend on EAS.

See this article (i think it is the 3rd one down) for a good break down.
http://www.aviationplanning.com/asrc1.htm

Another rumor...

An Air Midwest pilot rode along with us this morning from GCK-DEN. He claimed that their company name has just changed from "Air Midwest, Inc." to "Air Midwest, LLC." He said that this would make it easier to sell of Air Midwest to a worthy candidate (he thought BigSky). Just thought I'd pass it along.