Originally Posted by flyincoug34 (Post 3405973)

SO. I get that Sunny is a seasonal airline outside of MSP...But Florida and Vegas seem pretty year round. Why not a Orlando/tampa/vegas/phx base?

Hear me out-
1. Pilot retention: easier to recruit, retain AND POSITIVE SPACE pilots out of base to east coast/west coast/ and MSP. More options is cheaper and better for the airline and pilot group. I would argue more bases actually gets us closer to Deadhead Deviations being approved.
2. Actual room for growth with aircraft- right now we can't keep up with traffic in MSP, but when we can, where else are we going to put airplanes? They cant ALL be sitting in MSP right? What if a hail storm ruins half the fleet in one night because the majority of the aircraft are on the ramp? Why not have more maintence locations with one in the east and one in the west to support ferry/repo flight operations, in addition to pay and QOL improvements for maintenance.
3. Enhanced ability to pick up charter ops. Correct me if I am wrong - Big money for charter is on the coasts. Why not be closer and more able to pick up last min trip requests?

More bases to me seems like a win win for the pilot group and the airline as a whole. I don't see how a "fedex style" commuter bank can work with 500-1000 pilots WITH ONLY ONE base IMO...

Am I an expert? No. Just seems like on paper: if growth is actually desired, there has to be more bases. It gives the airline MORE flexibility to be seasonal than less and more profitable IMO.

Originally Posted by Rhdicjkwso (Post 3406089)

1. Maybe easier to recruit but company would abuse this and have more trips end in base (tpa/lal/mco las) which is not good for anyone except people living in those bases.

2. Airplanes do not sit in Minneapolis. Planes sit in Dallas in the summer or move thru the Amazon system. They do not sit. Maybe another mx base is a good idea but I don’t think that’s any problem with pilots.

3. Airplanes already float around and crew Dh’s to them (benefit to the pilot group). How many last minute charters are there for a 737? Not the same ball game as a citation ultra on 135.

More bases is a lose lose for the pilot group in my opinion. Less deadheads (read dh deviations) and less options for flying by outsourcing to other bases. The contract already includes provisions for out of base reserve which they choose not to use. The company model is do some flying out of a certain city for a few months then move on to somewhere else. New bases would just be a carrot for new hires.

As you said, it gives THE AIRLINE more flexibility. Not much more flexibility to the pilot group.

Originally Posted by Crjlife (Post 2726042)

I can’t even imagine being in a 6 day trip. I would hate my life real hard. I think I’m gonna stay where I am and stay put for something better. Thanks for the input though.