Kubota

Any truth to RAH picking up flying for a LCC in DTW? Heard they(LCC) want to feed their southern US routes with 170's and use their planes for Central and South American flying.

Could be good news for you 170 guys?

Rightseat Ballast

At this point it is strictly a rumor, and one I don't put much value in. Yes, BB has entered into some agreements with smaller carriers like Mokulele and Midwest, but those were attempts to get idle aircraft flying after the Frontier codeshare ended. Right now, there are no idle airplanes on RAH property. RAH would have to purchase new aircraft, and in today's economy it is extremely difficult to obtain the financing needed to acquire multiple aircraft. With the exception of the CRJ's (which were intended as only a short term solution to an aircraft availability problem), RAH purchases all of its aircraft. Yes, a bank owns them until the loan is repaid, but RAH does not lease aircraft from another airline. So, RAH would need to come up with a whole lot of confident lenders in a very timid market for any new codeshare to happen.

In short... unless you are in on the musical chairs game with Delta CRJ-900's, new flying just isn't happening anywhere.

king10pin02

Ive heard this too, called a few friends over at Spirit, none of them had heard anything about it. I have to agree with my coworker and and say this is unlikely.

Dougdrvr

So Spirit is in the "outsourcing" mood also? I guess that's what happens when one company's pilots stand up for themselves and another won't

ToiletDuck

Finanacing is hard to get however I don't believe RAH would have any issues. Plenty of cash on hand, good cash flow, and a great credit rating. The banks still want to make all the loans they can it's just that they have to focus that money on those that have better credit. RAH would not have have those issues. But you're right I don't see where any aircraft would come from.

Blkflyer

It would be Good News for RAH pilots Bad news for Spirit Pilots who are currently F_ed

king10pin02

actually, no, I said its not likely.

ToiletDuck

I'd rather see RAH get business from a more solid company.

paxhauler85

How about RAH get business from an airline that doesn't have its own pilots on furlough?

GoBlue

Does Mesa have any business from airlines with pilots on furlough?