AC and regional flying?

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teacher
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Re: AC and regional flying?

Post by teacher »

The August bid may have some shifting of planes, bases and or positions so maybe they're waiting to get that organized before continuing courses. Who knows. Either way the music hasn't stopped, it's just on pause.
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BE20 Driver
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Re: AC and regional flying?

Post by BE20 Driver »

I'm curious. How often do planes get shifted between bases? Do you anticipate that happening or is that just wild rumour in advance of the Westjet Regional?
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cv990
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Re: AC and regional flying?

Post by cv990 »

Not really wild rumor..it is necessary to understand how our flying is structured. Under a capacity purchase agreement, like we have with Air Canada, we supply aircraft and crew, and Air Canada determines where these aircraft are deployed. Periodically throughout the year, AC may switch some flying around... tweaks the flying is probably a better way to put it. Usually takes the form of moving a certain amount of hours from here and adding some hours to there..or something along those lines. When this happens, we have a company wide equipment bid...so Joe Pilot wants to fly an RJ out of Calgary but is currently a Dash 8 driver out of Toronto: maybe there are a few more positions opened up due to the tweaking of the flying hours in Calgary..so if his seniority can hold it, Joe Pilot will get his RJ spot in Calgary during the equipment bid. Or not..it all depends. These equipment bids usually happen twice a year..once in the summer and once in the winter..the results are not usually too drastic. Usually 5 or 6 positions here and there are moved around, sometimes more sometimes less. Generally when the music stops, most all pilots are at the base they want flying the equipment they want.. mostly.

Once those spots are filled, then any vacancies left over are filled by newhires. Nobody knows how the equipment bid in August is going to look like until Air Canada gives out the base hours and that wont happen for a while. Any other info is pure speculation.

Westjet Regional won't be up and running until next spring at the earliest and we will have two equipment bids between now and then.. perhaps in the spring Air Canada will shift some flying around in reaction to that, or not...who knows. But this summers equipment bid is just business as usual and has no correlation whatever to Westjet Regional.
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Mig29
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Re: AC and regional flying?

Post by Mig29 »

Cv990,

you said it best! It's been like this for years, and I can see why Jazz on hold for the summer. We hired 80 from the forecast 100 pilots (including upcoming May g/s) which is not so bad at all, and considering that Thomas Cook is gone, and that AC gives us the winter hour blocks later in the summer/fall, I would be cautious and pause for few months.

Having said that, the nice news is that Jazz is getting it's 16th Q400 (for the summer only) from Sky Regional to ramp up it's services. This is not a rumor any more, it's happening.
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Franky Jr
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Re: AC and regional flying?

Post by Franky Jr »

Really?
They are going to borrow Jazz a plane for the summer so Jazz can use it like a rental and return it?
Kinda nice kinda whatever
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cv990
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Re: AC and regional flying?

Post by cv990 »

It is a bit more complicated than that.. getting even one aircraft can be a real issue due to the constraints of the CPA with Air Canada. That CPA doesn't just deal with flying hours that we have..it also deals specifically with the amount of aircraft that are allowed under the contract. We cannot just go get an aircraft and run it as we see fit. We have an option for an additional 15 Q400's; we need agreement under the CPA before we can get those aircraft. But as Jazz, the ideal would be to be able to get more aircraft OUTSIDE the CPA.. but where to fly them? We need to diversify somehow. Either we grow the flying or we grow the fleet. There isn't really the flying available right now, so the option is more aircraft.. the conversation goes like this:
Jazz: "we're getting more Q400's"
AC: "no you're not"
Jazz: "guess what? Yes we are"
AC: "you won't be allowed to use them on CPA work"
Jazz: "guess what? yes we will"
We need to get out of the constraints of this CPA, and we need to grow and replenish the fleet. What people need to understand, is that we have our hands completely tied behind our backs by Air Canada here. So getting an additional Q400 is actually a big move.. and opens the door to potentially more.

I can see the CPA going by the wayside after the smoke clears at Air Canada..we would then be operating under a codeshare instead..taking more at-risk flying. This isn't really a step outside the box for us, as we were doing all the at-risk flying for Air Canada for years as Air BC, Air Ontario, etc.

So one extra Q400 for now.
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Zip Tie
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Re: AC and regional flying?

Post by Zip Tie »

Jazz would not be profitable operating outside the CPA using its current structure.Too many aircraft types and not having a sugar sweet deal from Air Canada would be the difference.Jazz is like a mini legacy carrier but this is the level of service that
Air Canada wanted.The resources required to keep that many aircraft types costs alot.Sayng that ,a bold move to operate on their own would only work with a huge operational change.
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The Hammer
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Re: AC and regional flying?

Post by The Hammer »

AC didn't want the sweet deal Jazz recieved, ACE did so it could do the IPO for Jazz and make money for its investors ie Cerberus and GE, ie get rich quick scheme that Cerberus is known for. Same with AVEOS. Only Aeroplan is maybe a truly viable company as it stands as long as AC operates in some form. You can buy a toaster with Aeroplan points.

Jazz hasn't had a real marketing or sales department in many years now (small charter sales aside).

Looking at the US carriers that either tried to make it on their own, Independence Air former United CPA carrier now DOA, (Jazz operated a couple of their former a/c) or got shafted by their former owner (Continental Express, spun-off with sweet CPA (sounds familiar) then when CPA renewed having +100 ERJ's to find work for. Continental Express now Express Jet, had 300 ERJ's in Continental colors. The first time I saw a CRJ in Continental colors I had to walk up to the aircraft to make sure I was seeing a CRJ.

Just look south and back 10-15 years to see what will occur in Canada in 2012-2015.
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