Scooter2525

Just heard from a line CA that, "tomorrow's class is the last one for a while....every one else just goes into a pool"

I wonder if this will continue through the industry?

fatmike69

Yes, all classes have been cancelled for the near future. Not sure how long it will be, I heard until August. Probably has to do with Delta cutting back alot of flying. In today's day and age of fuel prices, I just don't think the 50 seat RJ is economical to run anymore. I would venture to guess that airplanes like the E170 and 190, maybe even the CRJ900 are going to be the future of regional aircraft.....

flyboyzz1

the E170/90 burn way more fuel the the CRJ700/900 too bad everyone has a woody for em

labbats

I don't have a woody, I just prefer comfortable aircraft. Say what you will, there's no denying the 170 is much more passenger friendly than the 700.

JetJock16

This is true, I’ve seen an average difference of around 400-500 PPH Total between the two with the CR being much more efficient. FWIT, I have a friend who is flying the E-170. Although the CRJ is pretty well stretched to its max with the CR1000, the E-series has the ability to be stretched well beyond 120 Pax; but lets all hope that mainline continues to take delivery of all a/c near this range.

True as well, there is no comparison; the E-170/5 is wider therefore providing a larger cabin with wider seats, deeper overhead bins and more headroom. But with $100/brl oil, the CR7/9's making more money for their partners than the E-170's & 175's are.

flyboyzz1

yeah I wasn't saying that the CRJ is comfy...I try not to sit in back... but as oil keeps going up I can't see mainline airlines wanting to pay for the petro.

wmarti31

Going back to the original question, do you guys think this will continue through the industry or is it just Skywest?

fatmike69

Tough to call....but I would say it probably won't just be limited to Skywest. I think all carriers of the 50 seat RJ are probably going to start feeling the pinch on cutbacks. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think Comair is getting cutbacks on their 200's, as well as Skywest. With age 65, the large pool at Southwest, etc, I would say that hiring at the major levels will affect attrition at the regionals. Combine that with less growth and aircraft cuts at the regional level, I think it will be felt industry wide. However, that said, I think that RAH is in a much better strategic position than most just due to their fleet makeup (E170's, E190's...). While Skywest, ASA, Comair have much more 200's than any other plane, RAH is pretty evenly distributed between the smaller RJ's and the larger ones. Just my opinion though.

Koolaidman

I met Chip Childs when he was flying around our system rallying the troops before the ALPA vote. I asked what was new with SkyWest, any word on the Midwest side, etc. He mentioned that they were trying to get United to do 900's. He didn't say in what seating configuration though.

So I agree with the earlier posts that the 700's and 900's will probably be the aircraft of the future for regionals. At SkyWest we still have 18 700's and 4 900's coming later this year. So I think hiring will pick back up sooner or later.

I can only think of us getting the Midwest 50 seaters and RAH getting the 50 seaters for Continental in the last few years. The 200 is probably going to phased out in the next 5 - 10 years.

SharkyBN584

No 190's at RAH although we do have a payscale running around for it. Our E-jet fleet is all 170/175's. We're not stopping hiring from what I understand, although we are more comfortably staffed than last year. Of course, last year we didn't have enough pilots to operate all our aircraft so I think we're just now catching up. While attrition has slowed slightly, we still have a lot of hiring to do to keep up.