I’d look for them to go to SkyWest in exchange for removing some 200’s. GoJet and TSH were already on the rocks. With Compass and a Trans States closing I don’t know how they can survive this.

Any idea who else won't make the cut?

I'v also heard the strategy on the 550s is to move to very high yield markets like Aspen and the Silicon Valley. United wants it to be the "Silicon Valley Corporate Jet" connecting the high tech hubs. Silicon Valley also want to be able to put high tech people in a lower cost place and use the flights to shuttle people to the Valley when needed. They can pay less if it doesn't cost a million dollars for a small house. The planes are going to Skywest.

In my idealistic little mind the Captain who leads the ship into battle is either the last man off or he goes down with the ship. My experience in the corporate world has been that the Captain know the battle is going to be lost before the rest of the sailors and is off to a better deal right before the rest of the ship realizes that the ship is sinking.

The company lawyer is off to work for Prime The chief pilot is off to Atlas. Compass is gone. TSH is gone. The Delta flying is gone. The American flying is gone.

You would think that I would be smart enough to have put out my apps knowing all this months ago, but no. Now the virus. I wonder if Hulas would hire me to clean his pool or mow his lawn?

What makes you think the planes are going to skywest? I haven't heard anything like that anywhere and then today that just became the juicy rumor.

Or, GoJet is bought by United so they can put the money behind the 550 program without worrying about it folding. That would also put pressure on places like SkyWest. The majors can't let one regional get too big if you catch my drift. Buying GoJet would be super cheap and easy. Probably a straight cash exchange for the planes and pilots. No messy merger which would be way more expensive and time consuming. SkyWest or whoever doesn't want to play ball, the flying goes to the wholly owned.

Then, as Kirby at United has already said, the 200s and 145s are done by the end of the year. This obviously wouldn't bode well for places like ExpressJet or Air Wisconsin and whoever else has that flying. Whoever has 170s and 175s keeps them or gets more, IE SkyWest. Then I'd imagine the next step would be, at United, to work on either getting scope relief and/or pay concessions from mainline pilots. But that's a whole other discussion.

But frankly conjecture and speculation are just that. No one knows. Not me or your buddy who heard from a guy who works in the hangar who kid plays on Kirby's kid's t-ball team.

Bwahahahahah yeah.....no

Okay. Why?

Because United and every other legacy is in survival mode and the only focus is slowing the cash burn and trying to live to fight another day. They are not about to buy anything, much less a regional that only operates a few planes so far. Converting 700’s cost money too. Even if they decide to keep the 550’s, wouldn’t it be cheaper to transfer them to an airline like SkyWest or Mesa who already have a CRJ program than to buy an airline? United isn’t looking to preserve companies or jobs, they just want assets operated reliably and at the lowest cost.

For so many reasons...
1. What Itsajob said above
2. UA cannot own 100% of a regional due to the FA contract they have
3. They don't own the 550 airframes
4. 550 will either be a success or a deathtrap for GoJet, it all depends on scope. If there is no relief of scope, that airplane is doomed, to expensive to fly, it's targeted towards business passenger at a time when there are no business passengers flying. And due to scope it has no range, it is a crippled bird right now, however, if UA managed to get relief and they could operate the 550 with a 700 max TOW, then you would almost do coast to coast in it... The passengers would love that airplane...
5. Not that many 550 available now. and no new ones are being manufactured.
6. Probably many more reasons i cannot think of right now,.

Agreed...
UA can’t fully own a regional as a WO. It’s against their contract. UA pilots voted that out a while ago. Its why they couldnt buy XJT out right.

If UA owns 50% or more the have to pay the pilot/fa group as if they were UA and added to the seniority list