In the interview I read with Fred Deleeuw (Probably butchered that) he stated they were in talks with the DOT about ceasing only the east coast EAS flying but the DOT told them no. If they shut down some of the EAS flying they have to take down all the flying. He went on to say he was hopeful they would allow them to continue their EAS flyinf out west while a new carrier was selected. Best of luck to all involved. Tough situation.

 

well i dont wanna say that i saw this coming but the writing has been on the wall for a while now and rumors of something bad have been circulating for weeks. i dont think anyone thought it was going to be this drastic and this sudden but thats just the way it is.

as for myself, i had been preparing to leave anyway and currently have offers on the table for a jan 7 class at AWAC and a jan 9 class at Republic. just trying to decide on which one is a better fit for me overall. as with nearly all the FO's i worked with noone should have trouble finding a job at another regional. its the CA's that were just short of the 1000 TPIC that i feel bad for and the montana guys that have been with the company for years and years and never planned on leaving. either way at the end of the day i know everyone will land on their feet no matter where they end up.

 

word in cvg is that comair is, apparently a memo just came out, and my friend is doing the bigsky bgr flights, which we just picked up like a few days ago

 

By Gregory Polek

December 20, 2007
Air Transport and Cargo



MAIR Holdings announced yesterday that its Big Sky Airlines subsidiary will end all its Delta Connection service on the East Coast as of midnight on January 7. The company will then attempt to “transition” its Billings, Mont.-based operation to another airline, distribute any remaining cash to shareholders and completely liquidate sometime next year, said MAIR president Paul Foley during a conference call this morning. Delta has recruited wholly owned subsidiary Comair to assume responsibility for part of the 16-city Eastern network.

Meanwhile, MAIR has entered negotiations with another carrier, reportedly Cheyenne, Wyo.-based Great Lakes Aviation, to assume control of Big Sky’s Billings-based EAS markets. Foley attributed the decision to shut down to unusually bad weather, high fuel costs and “disappointing” revenue from the Boston-based operation, established in April in an effort to counter losses generated by its Western network.

 

I'm confused. Is the ENTIRE Big Sky operation shutting down or just the East coast stuff? I was under the impression that it was just the Delta flying out of Boston that was on the chopping block. Why would that affect the guys out in Montana that have been with Big Sky for years?

 

Looks like Kansas answered the question while I was typing. Thanks for the update.

 

No prob Bob...here's the link to the article for those that would like to see it firsthand: http://www.ainonline.com/news/single...ash=53c8ec5430

 

Guess I won't be applying to them.......

 

I bet the rest of you are glad you didn't have to attempt to overcome the impossible like deLeeuw and Foley had to overcome with factors such as "bad weather" and "high fuel costs".

 

Tonight on the 6 o'clock news here in Montana they announced that Big Sky will cease all operation by Feburary. Sad news I have a lot of buddies out of work with this announcement.