TodayQuote:
What you have are several regional managements with a bunch of aircraft on order they can't fly. They don't want to pay the cancelation penalties and are pursuing every avenue they can to find a way to fly them.
Yes, also, I believe that the sales agreements are contingent on scope clauses being relaxed. I believe I read about that in the Skywest agreement in AW&ST (not positive it was there)Originally Posted by sailingfun
You do know that those deals were inked years ago. Before the last round of contracts the same talking points were being put out stating that all the unions would cave and everything under 120 seats would be flown by the regionals. What you have are several regional managements with a bunch of aircraft on order they can't fly. They don't want to pay the cancelation penalties and are pursuing every avenue they can to find a way to fly them.
Found it, from 2012:
SkyWest Inc. has finalized an order for 100 Mitsubishi Aircraft MRJ regional jets announced in June, adding options for a further 100, and sticking with its original plan to use the firm order for the larger MRJ90 aircraft—at least for now.
The MRJ90 holds 90 seats in a single class, compared with 70 for the MRJ70. That is significant for U.S. regional carriers, such as the SkyWest subsidiaries, which operate the vast majority of their flights for major carriers under their brand names. That is because scope clauses in the major carrier collective bargaining agreements with their pilots limit by aircraft size and number the amount of flying that can be outsourced to regional carriers.
When SkyWest placed its tentative order in June, Kraupp said the carrier would wait to see how scope clauses at its major airline partners and potential future partners take shape before deciding whether to stick with the MRJ90s. If United Airlines pilots approve their tentative contract when the votes are counted on Dec. 15, the new upper limits will have been established for Delta, United and American Airlines at 76 seats. The only major network carrier higher than that is US Airways, at 90, so the picture could change a bit if it merges with American.
Kraupp now says that, either way, the MRJ90 could be a good fit.
“The MRJ90 can be configured to 76 seats to comply with current scope limitations,” Kraupp told Aviation Week on Dec. 13. “Since the aircraft don’t deliver for a few years, we will see where scope clauses migrate to when making final determinations as to which aircraft to take and how many seats.”
Kraupp says SkyWest probably needs to decide by 2015 whether to switch its order to MRJ70 aircraft. As to which airlines SkyWest will be operating the MRJ for, he says only that “we will have an ongoing effort to offer the aircraft to all of the U.S. majors and see what their appetite is.”
