Colgan and Q400
- Thread starter Cruise
- Start date
zmiller4
Well-Known Member
Yep! Just talked to Chuck. He said we'll be hiring 250 pilots by year end!
Good time to be a Colgan.
Nice! You guys dodged the ATR bullet. Congratulations, that's going to be an awesome airplane. I'm jealous...now Skywest has to get their butt in gear and buy some.
ColganFO
New Member
YOU SEE I TOLD YOU GUYS, I CAN'T WAIT TO FLY THIS AIRCRAFT.
250 PILOTS
HERE COME THE UPGRADES,
I TOLD EVERYONE THIS WAS HAPPENING
I KNEW IT
AWESOME, :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2:
I WONDER OF THE PAY WILL BE THE SAME AS THE SAAB
I HOPE ITS MORE
:nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2:
250 PILOTS
HERE COME THE UPGRADES,
I TOLD EVERYONE THIS WAS HAPPENING
I KNEW IT
AWESOME, :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2:
I WONDER OF THE PAY WILL BE THE SAME AS THE SAAB
I HOPE ITS MORE
:nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2:
Rocketman99
Frozen Guppy Manipulator
I'll be damned. Props in EWR again. Wonder how they (CO) managed to get that one over on the airport folks? It'll be nice having those in the repertoire, but I'm sure I'll never see em.
Baronman
Well-Known Member
YOU SEE I TOLD YOU GUYS, I CAN'T WAIT TO FLY THIS AIRCRAFT.
250 PILOTS
HERE COME THE UPGRADES,
I TOLD EVERYONE THIS WAS HAPPENING
I KNEW IT
AWESOME, :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2:
I WONDER OF THE PAY WILL BE THE SAME AS THE SAAB
I HOPE ITS MORE
:nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2: :nana2:
The same as the saab? You better hope it's not.....So how are your pay rates determined? Will the company just tell you you're getting paid $X? Seeing as how PCL can't get a contract through and Colgan not having a union I guess you just get what you get?
ComplexHiAv8r
Well-Known Member
So will base be EWR or do you think they will outstation base them?
It wont slow anything down at EWR. It travels the same distance a 737 will in an hour or so and its length and wingspan are just as big so we are talking heavy metal. On the conference call today we asked lots of questions but they danced around them like usual such as pay, bases, routes, and who transitions. I would love to get in that right seat so I could live at home, on the other hand, if i stick with the Saab I'll have a major seniority jump! I honestly hope they keep their word and grow pinnacle too. I'm an optimist and think they will but are just starting with us.
Cherokee_Cruiser
Bronteroc
Not to crap on anyone's parade, but Pinnacle Holdings buying 15 Q400s (from the bankruptcy note they sold for $283 million) and giving them to Colgan, while telling Pinnacle pilots that management can't afford to award the ALPA proposal contract... will not go over well with the Pinnacle pilots.
I expect this to get nasty. Maybe some PNCL pilots can chime in, but I believe scope is definitely in question here. And of course, the potential for whipsaw exists and I'm sure PT is already licking his chops at Nonconnah Blvd.
I expect this to get nasty. Maybe some PNCL pilots can chime in, but I believe scope is definitely in question here. And of course, the potential for whipsaw exists and I'm sure PT is already licking his chops at Nonconnah Blvd.
Rocketman99
Frozen Guppy Manipulator
Pinnacle is not paying for the planes. Continental is, and the fuel as well for the 10 year contract. That info was part of an official announcement on one of the av sites.
Cherokee_Cruiser
Bronteroc
INCORRECT!
Pinnacle Holdings is buying the aircraft, and Continental is buying the capacity on the aircraft.
Again, Pinnacle is buying these planes, using the cash from their recently sold bankruptcy note for $283 million.
Pinnacle Airlines Corp. Announces New Capacity Purchase Agreement With Continental Airlines
Colgan Air Expands Continental Connection Role
MEMPHIS, TN -- (MARKET WIRE) -- February 05, 2007 -- Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL) announced today that it has entered into a new capacity purchase agreement with Continental Airlines, Inc. Pinnacle Airlines Corp.'s wholly owned subsidiary, Colgan Air, Inc., will operate fifteen 74-seat Bombardier Q400 regional aircraft as a Continental Connection carrier. The aircraft will operate primarily out of the Continental hub at Newark Liberty International Airport.
"Pinnacle Airlines Corp. and its subsidiary Colgan have the high standards that we expect from our Continental Connection service," said Mark Erwin, Continental's senior vice president of corporate development. "Our selection of the Q400 aircraft is an important move for us because it addresses our need for efficiency without sacrificing our customers' comfort, and because it is well-suited to the unique operating environment at Newark Liberty."
"We are very pleased to be able to grow Colgan Air's existing relationship with Continental Airlines by entering into this capacity purchase agreement," said Phil Trenary, Pinnacle Airlines Corp.'s chief executive officer. "We look forward to providing industry-leading service for Continental and its customers, and we appreciate the confidence that Continental has placed in us and Colgan Air."
Key commercial terms of the agreement include the following:
-- Continental will purchase all Q400 capacity at predetermined rates and
industry standard pass-through costs. Fuel will be purchased directly by
Continental and provided to Colgan at no cost.
-- The aircraft will be delivered to Colgan from December 2007 through
June 2008 and placed into service in early 2008.
-- The capacity purchase agreement will be for a term of ten years from
the date of the last Q400 delivery, extending to June 2018.
Pinnacle Airlines Corp. will purchase the aircraft from Bombardier aerospace, subject to the arrangement of loan financing.
The Q400 aircraft is a next-generation regional turbo-prop aircraft built by Bombardier Aerospace. It features a spacious cabin with 74 seats in a single class configuration. With new technologies such as Bombardier's advanced Noise and Vibration Suppression System, the Q400 is one of the most comfortable regional aircraft available today. In addition, the Q400 cruises at near jet speeds of over 400 miles per hour while maintaining a significant unit operating cost advantage over similarly sized regional jet aircraft.
Pinnacle Airlines Corp., a publicly traded holding company, is the parent company of Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. and Colgan Air, Inc. Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. operates 135 Bombardier CRJ-200 Regional Jets in the United States and Canada as a Northwest Airlink carrier. Colgan Air, Inc. operates as Continental Connection, United Express and US Airways Express with a fleet of 39 Saab 340 and 11 Beech 1900 turbo-prop regional aircraft. For further information contact Philip Reed at 901.348.4257.
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=211185
Cherokee_Cruiser
Bronteroc
So now do you see how bad it sucks for a Pinnacle to have management tell them that management can't afford to give them a new contract because management "can't afford it" ?
Cruise
Well-Known Member
That's exactly what I heard as well. Then I read another article which stated Pinnacle was buying the planes and CO was paying for the gas.
Pinnacle article here
So, at the moment, I don't know what the truth is. If Pinnacle is, in fact, purchasing the planes w/ money they supposedly don't have.....I agree, that's not good.
Bring on the Union!!!!
Cherokee_Cruiser
Bronteroc
Yes, Pinnacle IS buying the airplanes.
And yes, they DO HAVE the money.
They very recently sold a bankruptcy note to gain $283 million dollars.
But do they negotiate with the Pinnacle pilots for a new CBA with pay raises and scope protection?
Hell NOOO!!!
They buy out Colgan IN A HEARTBEAT.
And pretty much instantly (almost instantly), order Q400s with all that money they gained from the bankruptcy note they sold.
It's a very diplomatic "F#$K you" to Pinnacle pilots from management.
And yes, they DO HAVE the money.
They very recently sold a bankruptcy note to gain $283 million dollars.
But do they negotiate with the Pinnacle pilots for a new CBA with pay raises and scope protection?
Hell NOOO!!!
They buy out Colgan IN A HEARTBEAT.
And pretty much instantly (almost instantly), order Q400s with all that money they gained from the bankruptcy note they sold.
It's a very diplomatic "F#$K you" to Pinnacle pilots from management.
wheelsup
Well-Known Member
Edited to add - looks like Pinnacle will purchase them according to the official press release on the Pinnacle web site. That's a blow to the Pinnacle pilot group.
I would think the two lists (Pinnacle and Colgan) should be integrated. That should solve all the whipsaw problems, however it opens up a completely new can of worms in regards to "what's fair" come integration time.
I would think the two lists (Pinnacle and Colgan) should be integrated. That should solve all the whipsaw problems, however it opens up a completely new can of worms in regards to "what's fair" come integration time.
Cherokee_Cruiser
Bronteroc
In this case, Pinnacle Holdings is buying the airplanes.
Continental is buying the capacity/fuel for 10 years.
It's in every news release regarding this deal.
dingo222
Well-Known Member
I believe that is so. I asked Phil T that very question on the colgan conference call yesterday. He said they are still looking to lease the planes, becuase they havent handed over the cash yet, but it looks like they will be bought.