Well I agree they do have the money, but thats becuase they are making money hand over fist for flying CRJ 700's around and paying their pilots 50 seat pay

 

It is ridiculas - ExOrnstein Minion - SkyW pawn nowadays...

 

Look bro I see your point but if the paint schemes that grace the SKW planes suddenly dropped them I don't think their next move (or subsequent 10 moves) would be to run to Boeing with an order for a few jets.

 

I gotta agree. Notice that XJT didn't run out and buy a bunch of Boeings or Airbii? Or even E170/190s for that matter. The last thing you want to do is tie up a lot of capitol.

 

Depends on the company's financial situation. I also don't know what it takes to get it's own ticket. Don't they have to apply with the DOT for one?

If they had the money I don't see any reason why they wouldn't. A 737 is much more efficient than a RJ. If they've got routes where they can fill the seats it wouldn't be a bad move.

What do you mean skywest isn't limited to RJ's? Scope clause? They are limited. If they had a boeing flying a route you're saying they wouldn't be taken to court over it? IF they lost the paint on the planes then I understand. But there would have to be a WHOLE LOT of work to be done long before they even thought about expanding to any kind of bigger aircraft. However they haven't and thus are limited in what they can fly.

 

Back to the point: Break your payrates out on the bigger jets, vote in a union, and for god's sake quit calling it the 'Bro.' That has to be the gayest thing I've ever heard. As a matter of fact, forget about all the union, pay rate, regional vs. major stuff. Just kill the 'Bro' moniker and you guys will be alright.

P.S. My roommate's a 'Bro' captain but, being an Ex-Laker, reaizes the gayness of 'the Bro'.

 

Thats the key. IF YOU CAN FILL THE SEATS. And fill them reliably day after day. So how are you gonna fill the seats? You're gonna have to fly to bigger cities, right? Don't you think the players in the game already figured that out? There's a reason Southwest makes money hand over fist flying the point to point routes they operate. What XJT is trying to do is fly point to point among small to mid-size cities. Now which do you think is better: to fly once a day with a 737? Or 3 times a day with RJs? From a marketing (passengers chose their carrier based on price first and schedule second) and economic standpoint it makes sense to have 3 flights a day that you have a reasonably good chance filling up versus having 1 flight a day that you would struggle to fill up.

When jumping into a venture like this it makes more sense to start small and invest your money in marketing, building a buzz and a reputation (to quote Jim Ream "pimp this thing out on every corner") than it does to buy a bunch of shiny new airplanes. ExpressJet Airline's goal is not to fly against United and Southwest. They are trying to fly under the radar serving small, under-served city pairs that would be too inefficient for a large network carrier to serve with larger aircraft.

 

Ok so lets estimate that SKW has, what, $400M in cash? So you pick up a few Boeings and now your pilot group of approx 1000 is now widdled down to 50. Who gets the flying? You have enough cash to fend off those aforementioned lawsuits? Seems to me like an amateur move to go after the 73's just because you can.

 

I'm pretty sure hub to hub flying wouldn't hurt anything with a bigger aircraft. A 737 isn't much larger than current aircraft. I think Southwest makes money hand over fist because they use more efficient aircraft with a 25min turnaround, lack of assigned seating(more efficient), and paying 50% of market value on fuel. Not to mention a great reputation for low accidents and high rate of being on-time.

Southwest also doesn't even fly out of atlanta which skw has many flights going to. Not to mention that a 737 can fit cargo on it. That's the money maker.

The CRJ 200 which SKW has more of costs $1131.00 per hr to operate. A boeing 737-800 is $1583.00 per hour. So for $452 more per hour you could fit 139 more people.... Math still says the 737 is a much better aircraft. If they could put 64 people on a 737 they would come out the same as if they put 50 on a CRJ. If they could fill the 737 up they'd save about $2941 per hour compared to using CRJs to move the same volume of people(although 4 trips in a CRJ would move 200 people instead of 189). That's JUST savings. Lets say you pay $100 per ticket for a two hour flight. That's $18,900 with $3166 in direct operating cost(excluding crew and the other little ins and outs). For close to the same volume of people you would get $20,000 in ticket sales with $9048 in direct operating cost (minus crew and the same little ins and outs).

This of course is just the aircraft and does not include the increase in pay you'd pay someone to fly a 737. I wouldn't think it an amateur move by any means.

 

If Skywest was to obtain 737s or A320s they would be crushed by Legacies and LCCs wherever they went to compete. You honestly think than Southwest, AirTran, and every other Legacy wouldn't overflood the market with flights so that Skywest would bleed cash? I don't think it would be a smart move.