Our first flight just left!

Velocipede said:
Reality is not negativity. It has been widely reported that the loss of some flying has left Xjet with 44 airplanes that are under, if not, unutilized.

Hence, the introduction of "new flying" like GEG-SAC, GEG-ONT, etc. No one says you're not working hard, its just readily apparent that Xjet management is scrambling to find SOMETHING/ANYTHING to do with excess capacity.

If they don't discover it soon, furloughs are the inevitable next step.

Good luck!
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Not quite. Our management has been looking for a reason to do our own flying for quite a while. In fact, long ago our management realized that the new Continental penny pinchers were likely to reduce the amount of lift we provide, so they began doing research on routes that would be good to utilize our 50-seaters. This is what they came up with: http://www.xjet.com. In fact, listening to our CEO speak many times, he wishes Continental would give us back all 274 airframes so we are not tied to that company any longer.

We will have many ups and downs in the coming months and years, but right now I'm very cautiously optimistic about this whole deal. This is definitely not the same as the Independence Air debacle at all. I'd say we have as much spirit as they did starting out, and they lasted about two years. Us, we are using only 44 jets, supplemented by 205 jets in the Continental system, 10 in the Delta system, and another 15 doing very, very lucrative charter operations.

From what I've seen and heard walking through the halls of our training center in Houston, and listening to our CEO and upper management speak in person, I am totally on board with what they are doing. As I said last week to a new-hire class, I'm not drinking the kool-aid right now, I'm sniffing it. No point in diluting it. That doesn't mean myself or any other pilot should be a pushover, because we still have to make a living in this career. But if I can making a living by working hard to watch this company grow, then by all means I'll do so.

Maybe your pessimism is due to the misperception that we are yet another LCC on the market. That is not true. Our flying is tailored to the business traveler who is willing to pay a premium for direct service. Of course we still must stay competitive in terms of ticket prices, especially starting out.

This will all probably be disregarded as psycho-babble, and that is fine (especially since this week I'm helping fly for those "scabs" at jetBlue, the horror! I know how you hate them so). I am going to one of our branded bases in May to start flying those 44 teal- and grey-colored airplanes, working my ass off to hopefully make this successful. Come 2009 when Continental is slated to return another 51 airplanes, I hope they will be used to open some more lucrative routes to bring our branded flying fleet up to 95.

I don't think that any pilot on our seniority list isn't aware of the challenges and risks that face us. There is nothing wrong with our optimism. I'm not sure what you wanted us to do... give up the airplanes to Chautauqua, furlough pilots, and shut down the training department? That would be a definitely good move for "raising the bar" in the industry, wouldn't it? Submission? Great idea.

I guess
 
thestaton said:
Question: What's the easiest way to find flights out of Louisville? I tried picking a few days on xjet.com but it always said non available.
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It might not be available on those days due to the route start date. In the "Why XJET" section of the website, you'll find the start dates of all routes under "Destinations." For Louisville, RDU and MCI flying starts on May 7th.
 
Velocipede said:
That doesn't address either the economics of attempting to run an RJ airline (a significant factor in the FlyI debacle) OR the lack of O/D traffic out of those cities. Especially when you consider those cities are also served by major airlines whose FF programs inspire great customer loyalty.
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Actually, we now have a fairly competitive CASM now that we have renegotiated our rates with Embraer.
 
Captain_Bob said:
Well... what's wrong with "Look what happened to Southwest..." ;)
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Nothing, really. Except the difference is you're trying to do it with RJs. How many times do you think a passenger will sit in an RJ for over 2 hours before reevaluating their choice of carriers?

SWA does it with 737s and no amenities. The amenities you're providing take dollars off the bottom line. They may be good initially, but you won't be able to continue to provide that level of service at those prices.
 
Velocipede said:
Nothing, really. Except the difference is you're trying to do it with RJs. How many times do you think a passenger will sit in an RJ for over 2 hours before reevaluating their choice of carriers?.
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Well, the fact that it is RJ's is actually a good thing for our business model. Smaller aircraft, that can get into smaller airports where there is a business need... and no competition from the "big boys".

Regarding the comfort of the RJ... Tell you what... I'll offer up a buddy pass on us. You then tell me whether you like to be seated in memory foam seats, with Free XM, enjoying a nice meal, a nice pillow and blanket, and possibly a nice frosty affordable beverage or premium wine, without having to sit in a middle row... OR... would you prefer to be hearded into a SW 737 stuck in the middle seat fighting for that precious armrest, squirming in the "stiff as a board" Boeing seats, eating a bag 'o nuts, and wishing you had charged your i-pod before you left? ;)

Velocipede said:
SWA does it with 737s and no amenities. The amenities you're providing take dollars off the bottom line. They may be good initially, but you won't be able to continue to provide that level of service at those prices.
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The fact is... Poor Management takes dollars away from the bottom line. The amenities that we are offering are not costly at all in the grand scheme of things. In one of our conference calls, our CEO told us the specific cost for everything from the food, to the headsets, to the beer even... You'd be surprised at how much this stuff really "doesn't" cost. Whatever it does cost... will be returned to us in customer satisfaction and loyalty.

What is bad... is the fact that the airlines as a whole... have effectively brainwashed the general public into thinking that those "amenities" do cost too much for them to provide and still give you an affordable ticket.

Bob
 
It's Friday April 6th and operations out of SAT have been running smoothly! We here at SAT are anxiously awaiting Monday when we will have 4 daily flights serving SMF twice a day and ONT twice a day.
 
The only problem we (XJET) have encountered system wide is our complimentary headsets used for our XM Radio service do not appear to be operating efficiently. We have been recieving feedback on the headsets that suggests they are not transmitting the music at a high enough volume to allow the customers to enjoy the satelite radio. Our station GM told us yesterday that XJET is scraping the headsets and is about 4 days from recieving better operating headsets. Naturally XJET is absorbing a financial loss to replace these headsets but this shows me that the company is listening to the consumer and willing to do what it takes to make travel on our planes the best one possible! ;)
 
bwade,

How are things shaping up in the SAT domicile? Any crew room construction, etc.? I'll be there in three weeks! I have a feeling my schedule is going to be pretty crappy for the first few months, not to mention a tough commute. Hopefully there are some cheap hotels around the airport!
 
FlyChicaga said:
bwade,

How are things shaping up in the SAT domicile? Any crew room construction, etc.? I'll be there in three weeks! I have a feeling my schedule is going to be pretty crappy for the first few months, not to mention a tough commute. Hopefully there are some cheap hotels around the airport!
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Is there an announcement I missed Matt???
 
If I were netjets or another charter service I'd be a little worried about xjt opening this biz. It seems as though these operators have done quite well, and xjt has realized this.
 
mrivc211 said:
If I were netjets or another charter service I'd be a little worried about xjt opening this biz. It seems as though these operators have done quite well, and xjt has realized this.
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Why would you worry? Its a whole different experience flying in a sweet corporate charter than in an airplane with 50 seats. Not much room to stretch out in an RJ. THAT'S why you won't get a whole lot of repeat biz on LONG legs.
 
Our charter department fulfills a niche in service that was previously under-offered. When you have a basketball team, baseball team, or other corporation looking to move 25-50 people, it makes better financial sense to charter a regional jet rather than a B737. Plus, the corporate-charter fleet is just too small to handle the groups that we fly. We are not marketing to corporate-charter customers who are flying five executives to a meeting.
 
Velocipede said:
Why would you worry? Its a whole different experience flying in a sweet corporate charter than in an airplane with 50 seats. Not much room to stretch out in an RJ. THAT'S why you won't get a whole lot of repeat biz on LONG legs.
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Your proving your ignorance on this site daily my friend! I am currently at the ticket counter in SAT and have just checked in the last 7 pax bound for ONT. Every passenger I checked was a customer flying us on the 2nd leg of their trip. Each of these seven that I checked in had nothing but great things to say about our service, the A/C, and the amenities. These pax went so far as to say that they are bragging to their friends about how wonderful of an airline we are! ;)
 
FlyChicaga said:
bwade,

How are things shaping up in the SAT domicile? Any crew room construction, etc.? I'll be there in three weeks! I have a feeling my schedule is going to be pretty crappy for the first few months, not to mention a tough commute. Hopefully there are some cheap hotels around the airport!
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As of now...there are 4 recliner chairs and not much else. According to our station GM here in SAT there is more amenities on the way, but he has no idea as to when that may be. If you need help with lodging, I can help you out. There are some cheap hotels around, but if you cant find one within reason I have an extra room at my pad.
 
bwade210 said:
As of now...there are 4 recliner chairs and not much else. According to our station GM here in SAT there is more amenities on the way...
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Let's hope so... it's looking kinda barren in there right now... ;) I take it the metal shelves on the left equals our "bag-room". Doh!

PICS:
1. Crew-room... ala prison-esque painted cinder block walls. ;)
2. E-Ticket Machine
3. Gate
4. Ticket Counter
 
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