If a companies only chance of growth is hoping that the comp dies then to each his own.. Remember AWAC could not even win the Midwest Connect Flying which was right in their back yard.. As much as everyone wants to see Mesa Die. they are much Cheaper to Operate than most regionals.. and in This Economy Mainline will crunch Numbers and give it to the cheapest reagional, AWAC is too Expensive. Yea Airways may toss a bone their way but the reality is AWAC is one of the Most Expensive Regionals to Operate They have a Great Contract decent pay but Reality is Mainline is in survival mode so Unless the economy comes out of Recession and start to Expand in the Next 14 months or so Expect to see more Furloughs and Cuts at Mainline but More so at the Regional..

Unless you have pure hard facts to back up your statement I'd say you don't have a clue as to why AWAC didn't "win" the flying. Maybe, just maybe they opted out because they didn't want a two year contract. They've been through that before. Why invest if there is no long term interest. i.e. Airtran. I'd say at this point with the debacle going on at Midwest, maybe they made a pretty smart business decision.

If you have something in hard factual format I'd like to see it. But if you don't, it's just another rumor or another opinion.

Whiskey

Looking back, at the time I think we'd have been overjoyed to get the Midwest flying; MKE base, more aircraft, upgrades, etc. But with the benefit of another 2 years in this industry, I think it's pretty safe to say we're all extremely glad we didn't. None of us would have wanted a hand in the unfolding debacle at Midwest, the shutting down of Skyway and ultimately a bunch of aircraft that would be returned to the lessors but we'd continue to pay for.

There are a lot of things the pilot group at ZW can say about the owners but one thing I think we'd say with absolute certainty, is that they are nothing if not shrewd when it comes to making money. A lot of the very senior guys that commute from MKE and WI, are convinced that AWAC pulled their bid because the terms of the contract weren't in AWAC's best interest.



I find it amusing and somewhat sad that there is this general feeling that you should be embarrassed that your company is more expensive. Should I be embarrassed that I work under what is a great contract, considering that it's 6 years old or that I get block or better, on leg by leg basis. Full CX and DH pay, No blended pay-rates, Trip and Duty Rigs, Max scheduled days depending on start time, Day rooms for extended sits, No PBS, decent 401K matching, etc, etc.

If getting 70/90 seaters means I lose any of that, then you can keep 'em because when all is said and done there are only 3 things I care about; My paycheck, my QOL and my days off. Once the door is closed, it doesn't really matter how many people are in the cabin because it still looks the same to me.

Sorry for the Hi-jack.

I hope we can get all the furloughed guys back ASAP. If I fly with any of them, the first nights beers will be on me.

Hey Kenny, you said it best, but does that first night of beers in include guys coming back from VLOA? hahaha

Hey Kenny, GREAT responce and I cant agree with you more, and I'm one of the 64 on furlough. If I get back on property soon I'll take you up on that free beer, but I'll have to get you a couple in return. You wouldn't happen to be LGA based would you?

With every regional over the last year and a half looking for new business I would not say they Opt out.. AWAC lost to Skywest simple and now RAH is doing some flying for Midwest.. Whats wrong with a 2 year contract..

Bottom line is AWAC is way too expensive in this economy and I dont see a ton of Code shares lining up to dish out 50 seat Flying

What's wrong with a 2-year contract is that AWAC would have had to invest a lot of money for little guarantee of a return. The fact that AWAC is privately owned means the owners can look for longer term results for themselves. They don't have to look solely for next quarter's results and growth, etc.

Don't get me wrong, I wanted that Midwest contract as much as everyone else here. But nobody laments not having it right now. Midwest is in dire straits and if they collapse Skywest and Republic will take a hit.

More power to them if they can be profitable. But the owners of AWAC do things differently. End of story. I don't know why you wish to act like you know everything that goes on here. Even the employees barely know what goes on here.

It is also generally acknowledged that we are cost competitive with other carriers. But the owners want a specific return over a longer period of time and this is one reason the bids have been 'uncompetitive'.

Nobody really knows what goes on here, least of all someone who doesn't work here.

Slow your roll capitan I never said I know everthing that happens at AWAC I am stating My opinion based on what DID not happen.. if you get off on trying to get a Rise out of me by targeting me.. Good luck I will still state my opinions on the boards within the confines of the TOS for APC if you have a prob with that alert the mods.

Cheers...

You're not very bright are you?? So I'll make this really simple;

2 years is probably an ok deal if you've got the spare planes sitting around. If, you've got to go and dig them out of hibernation after they've been sitting in the desert for an extended period of time, you're going to have to spend extra $$ getting them up to scratch. If you spend more initially, then you're not going to make as much over the 2 year period. So simple even a Mesa pilot could understand it.

And you know this how?? I very much doubt that you were privy to any discussions between Midwest, AWAC and Skywest or that to pull the bid would have been very much in keeping with the way the AWAC owners do things.

In the end it really doesn't matter what transpired. Skywest flies for Midwest, AWAC doesn't and now the poor b@stards at Midwest are getting royally screwed. Like I said before, I think we're pretty glad we didn't get the contract.

I am happy you Trust your owners If I can recall isnt it the same owners who screwed you guys knowing that United was not going to renew your flying but got concessions from the Pilot Group then ran to Airways something like that.. and made a boat load of money at the expense of the pilot group You sure do have alot of faith in them...