AA announces large RJ order

[WorldTraveler]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-airlines-announces-large-regional-114500237.html

This is a significant step for AA in increasing its fleet of large RJs and reducing its overall costs.

 

[USFlyer]

Glad to see the CRJs will be going to PSA!

 

[1AA]

So much for getting rid of American Eagle. How many times over the last 10 plus years did AA say Eagle was losing money and needed to sell it or just plain get rid of it?
Just like Parker recently announced NO layoffs. Here we go. Business as usual.

 

[AirLUVer]

So much for getting rid of American Eagle. How many times over the last 10 plus years did AA say Eagle was losing money and needed to sell it or just plain get rid of it?
Just like Parker recently announced NO layoffs. Here we go. Business as usual.

If you read the article you would find out that none of the airplanes are currently scheduled to go to American Eagle.  The CRJ's are going to be operated by PSA Airlines and "branded" American Eagle, and the balance have not been decided on.

 

[eolesen]

Correct. They'll go to the lowest bidder, which could just as easily be Mesa, Republic or SkyWest before they'd go to PSA or Eagle...

 

[FWAAA]

So much for getting rid of American Eagle. How many times over the last 10 plus years did AA say Eagle was losing money and needed to sell it or just plain get rid of it?
Just like Parker recently announced NO layoffs. Here we go. Business as usual.

Arpey waited a few years too long to begin talking about divesting American Eagle Airlines, as by then, the market for a 50-seat RJ airline had tanked.   While Arpey was arguing that he would never take AA into CH 11, the only way to reduce the cost of regional jet feed was to spin it off and then make it bid against the Mesas and Skywests.    But when the board overruled Arpey and ordered a Ch 11 filing, including American Eagle Airlines, AA was able to get concessions from the MQ employees.   Parker may still decide to unload MQ, but its costs were reduced, so perhaps there is hope for keeping it a wholly-owned.
 
On the flip side, Parker and Kirby infuriated the MQ pilots this past summer when they demanded that MQ (as well as PSA and Piedmont) pilots give even more concessions or else they wouldn't get any more large regional jets.    IIRC, the PSA pilots signed more concessions, and now they've been rewarded with new CRJ900s.
   
My guess is that American Eagle Airlines doesn't get any new 76 seaters until they give yet again, and I doubt they'll agree to that.   

 

[eolesen]

My prediction is that Eagle will slowly whither on the vine the way Comair did...

 

[IORFA]

I could potentially see the CRJ-700's going to PSA if they say no again. Would make sense for them to fly both if I assume correctly that it has a common type rating. Maybe Eagle can survive as a Q-400/ATR operator. Or maybe Horizon is looking to expand and do some contract work? I predict that they give in and work for pennies with the lure of a guaranteed/almost guaranteed move to AA.

 

[737823]

My prediction is that Eagle will slowly whither on the vine the way Comair did...

I imagine think they will stick around as a ground handling subsidiary, no?

Josh

 

[eolesen]

Why should they keep them as a ground handling subsidiary? It's a low margin business, and hard to compete with airlines who are trying to make better use out of their downtime.

 

[Beancounter]

So much for getting rid of American Eagle. How many times over the last 10 plus years did AA say Eagle was losing money and needed to sell it or just plain get rid of it?
Just like Parker recently announced NO layoffs. Here we go. Business as usual.

 
This RJ order was discussed months ago by analysts, it wan't hidden, and shouldn't come as a surprise.
 
Bean

 

[WorldTraveler]

any insight on where small RJ service will be cut? Is this just to replace aircraft that were rejected in BK or are there further aircraft being replaced, including on the US side?

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

any insight on where small RJ service will be cut? Is this just to replace aircraft that were rejected in BK or are there further aircraft being replaced, including on the US side?

While I'm no route planner, I would hope DCA is one of the places.

 

[FLYUSAIRWAYS]

UsAirways 2 wholly owned express carriers are Piedmont and PSA.  We now know that PSA is in safe mode.  The next BIG question is what will happen to Piedmont, with all those senior crews, flying those ready to retire Dash-8's.  Are any of American Eagle express carriers wholly owned ?????  If they are, maybe those 60 175's will go to them.  It doesn't make any sense to me that we would buy 60 new planes to hand over to a contract carrier.  If I am wrong please fill me in.

 

[RJcasualty]

The reports of Real Eagle's death have been greatly exaggerated--- to the extent that a deal can be made with the pilots:  http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/kirby-optimistic-about-a-deal-with-american-eagle-pilots.html/