Quote:
Originally Posted by RJ Pilot
They are the same.
LOL !!!!! (you must be a new guy).
Well, there's speculation as to several motives. One involves cleaning up the books of Executive and another involves future purchases of aircraft. Executive has a Operating Certificate that may come in handy for AMR in the future in one of several ways. AMR wants more operations to go to the "large" RJ segment (70-seats and above) and also wants at least two operators to insure whipsawing remains in place. They freely admit as much in their contract proposal to the APA (which they know would be soundly rejected).
Any money paid to another operator for THEIR profit is money lost (some call it "leakage"). Many believe AMR wants a scenario of two seperate (and highly profitable) short/medium domestic operators flying 70-100 seat large RJ's and selling American Eagle, Inc and modifying Eecutives Airlines, Inc. could be a future plan to insure AMR gets their cake and can eat it too. They could (in the right fashion) control these two competing carriers and reap all the profits.
Of course, there is one primary thing that is standing in the way ; Mainline Labor. It's NOT just about pilot scope, but about the ability to operate these aircraft with labor costs low enough to insure maximum profit using competitive costs...........and like it or not, the competition is already defined and will never change. Look around and you'll notice more and more CRJ-900's and EMB-175/190's appearing with labor costs at (or below) those currently at Eagle. We wont even metion the hundreds upon hundreds of 70-76 seat (many mixed-class) aircraft out there. ALL the mainline labor groups at AA are intertwined (whether they like it or not) and it is the TOTAL picture there that must be considered. AMR has virtually NONE of this and knows to be a profitable corporation in the future, it has no alternative but to compete in like fashion and do so without the current hamstring situation that is killing it.
For AMR, timing is everything here. They need more time to insure the competitive landscape will be what they think it will and to line their ducks up for what they believe will be ultimately necessary to resolve their problems once and for all.
The ultimate future (er,.....lets say my opinion) will involve AA being an International and long-range/transcon carrier (it will also operate in selected medium-range markets) roughly half it's current size that competes with other high-cost carriers. The other will be a dual short/medum range domestic carrier arrangement operating up to 100 seat jets with lower labor costs that will grow substantially. Eagle itself will probably shrink noticably, but another carrier (I wonder who ?) will be the primary growth vehicle.
2 things are most important over the next couple of years for AMR to achieve this ultimate goal (and free itself from the currently hopeless rope around their necks)...........time and timing. They still need time to align certain things to insure timing is right to reach the ultimate outcome. They're not stupid and they're not sitting around not planning. They're palnning and biding their time and there will be a time when the moment is at hand to complete the process. That moment will be triggered by an entity OTHER then AMR.
AMR is doing what's necessary to insure they're ready when that moment arrives and that my friends you can bank on. The profession of airline piloting is nearing the bottom of the long downward slide its been on for 15 years and now its too late to go forward to the past. The only way to change it is to get a magic De Lorean and go "Back to the Future" for a "re-do". ALPA fumbled the ball when Comair introduced the RJ in the early ninties, by not fiercly protecting this type of flying in its infancy. They failed again, by not insuring regional feed networks were closely aligned to their associated major networks with cohesive labor integration (SSL's, transfer/protection arraingements) that INCLUDED these pilots intead of DIVIDING them. The APA could have seen that even as recent as 5-7 years ago and wrapped their arms around the Eagle pilots not for the Eagle pilots, but ultimately FOR THEM. Mutual allies with common interests would have had a much better chance of shaping AMR and AA for a different and more beneficial future for all, instead of the hopeless and permamant division that now will likley result is one entity watching the other entity engage a final battle that will produce some decent results for half and ultimately sacrifice the rest.
At AMR, it seems the final play will play itself out and the ultimate casuality will be the profession that "once was". The old saying comes to mind......."keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer". Again, the best bet was for ALPA (and the APA) to make ONE profession of pilots instead of fragmented adversaries (or even enemies).
Ahhh, if only we could go back in time...............................