700UW said:
How is it a stupid idea? It keeps the money in the group instead of pouring hundreds of millions into Johnny O's wallet. You negotiate the pay rates with ALPA just as ALL operators of RJs have done.
We pay Mesa or anyone else a gauranted profit on their RJ flying, plus reimburse them cost of fuel, landing fees, ground handling, insurance, lease and then we have NO quality control over them. The costs are gonna be there, why not keep them money inhouse as we would not have to pay a revenue gauranted profit to them and the profits could and should remain inhouse!
Exactly. Air Canada has mainline CRJS. US is trying to outsource the 70 *cough* 90 seaters.
Lets say for simplicity U had a standard fleet with four pay rates
A332/A333
A319/320/321
E170/175/190/195
CRJ
Four different pay rates for pilots, lets say the CRJ rate is similar to Comair and the EJets to Jetblue.
Flight attendants would be qualified on all but have different work rules dependant on aircraft type, for example, on all CRJ/EMB flights no premium pay, cleaning at all stations etc.
There might be some hidden costs to a single list but look at what costs disappear by merging the ML/WOs into a single carrier.
* Payments to a multitude of different airlines.
* Three seperate owned airlines, each with seperate management, facilities etc performing the same mission. Cuts down on a lot of redundant administrative costs to take care of one company rather than 11.
* Elimination of operational inflexibility (airline x cant fix or staff airline y's aircraft, or fly the route for them)
* No more silliness and inconvienience to customers to make departure fee from US (planes leaving 10 hours late so its not shown as cancelled, control over dispatching aircraft in ways that protect revenue).
* Not a cost issue directly but a single identity and agenda for all employees makes an operation smoother than having different airlines at different hubs ground handle many more airlines each with its own culture, terminology, agenda, rules etc. Big morale boost.
* Quality control. No more complaint letters about employees that US wouldnt have hired in a million years.
* Training costs would go down as there are more oppotunities at a single company and incentive to stay, as opposed to most commuters that are merely a brief, sad chapter in most people's careers.
* Eliminates back and forth scope issues. Company can actually fly appropriate sized aircraft where it wants, and however many without having to worry about scope.
* Can introduce 190/195 on many routes, replacing the 737 with a lower cost, higher comfort, right sized plane that only requires two F/As. Can utilize Airbus narrowbody fleet more appropriatly.
* Discontinue negative "Express" connotation with single branding.
* No worries of anyone pulling an ACA (take your routes, terminal, and passengers and start your own airline) or Midway (stop operating).
* Allows employees and mgmt to help bring thier airline forward rather than spend every day trying to argue that the companys employees should actually staff the place and defend ones job daily.
The list is endless on how much would actually be saved, in money and drama by in-sourcing the flying. With the new "SJs" the lines have been blurred even more, and sooner or later, some airline and its unions and management will agree that a plane is a plane, and an airline cant be run as a franchise.