ExpressJet Future

CapnJim said:
Rebublic the uber regional you say?

Well, I wouldn't doubt anything at this point. If, in five years time, Mesa comes out as the top regional to work for in the industry, I will be suprised to find anyone who finds my complete lack of shock remarkable.

Put a winecork in a tide, and place bets on where it will end up on the beach. You now have some idea as to what it's like to make decisions in this industry.
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Yeah I don't about uber regional, but no doubt top 3. XJT, Skywest, Republic. I like the beach scenario.
 
That's my first hand account of my only exposure to their operation. I have cast no opinions, made no assumtions, and have not related any of this to any of their other operations anywhere, so don't try to put words in my mouth.
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I guess I don't really understand the point of your story? Sure there are operational challenges. Many places are understaffed and under-equipped. I will say that there have been pretty drastic improvements in the operation when compared to what is was like in the first few weeks.

At least the rampers in the story sound like they're trying their best with what they have to work with. Doesn't sound too bad to me.
 
Smart people can always predict what a company is like overall based on one example, on one day, at one outstation. That's just good common sense.
 
Good lord did you read the last line? I didn't say the whole company is like that, I didn't allude to it, I didn't insinuate it, I didn't hint at it. Regardless, that's exactly the response I expected, which was the point of my post, to test that theory. Thanks for proving my theory correct.
 
I like the press forward attitude of the XJT management. It seems like they really are trying to make this work. When it really comes down to it (from an investor view), XJT appears to be pulling a FlyI.

Wall Street has jumped all over this with a very negative outlook. Ream has insisted XJT's operation is nothing similar to FlyI's.

However, the Street doesn't see it that way. They see a regional trying to be a national carrier and that scares them. The cash XJT dumps into XJT Airlines is considered a NRE (non-recoverable expense). So, should it work (as I hope to heaven it does), great! If not, it isnt as simple as saying "well that was fun." There will be financial damage beyond repair.
 
In all honesty, the airlines aren't necessarily a 100% stable business so trying to use financial data to decide where to go is about like reading the nutritional information on a Big Mac and trying to decide between McDonalds and Burger King.

Find an airline that fits your personality and goals and do it.

Choosing Ozark over TWA because one had a better P/E ratio is a little counterintuitive.

Accept the risk or not, but they're all risky from the top to the bottom.
 
Doug Taylor said:
In all honesty, the airlines aren't necessarily a 100% stable business so trying to use financial data to decide where to go is about like reading the nutritional information on a Big Mac and trying to decide between McDonalds and Burger King.
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Agree to disagree. Financials, trends, margins, ratios, and similar financial data are like a doctor reading an EKG.

This information provides a road map to the over all health of a company.

Indeed, there are companies that are very sucessful yet their stock price or associated ratios dont agree however, looking a little deeper into trends and costs/earnings can really shed light on what's going on behind closed doors.

I have several examples if you're interested. :)
 
I'll be the first to admit that we have problems that need to be corrected. Tulsa's ops for example... Ouch!!

We have some shining stars... and some that are drastically in need of improvement. The one tool that we use on the line is a "pilot report" that goes straight to management about the situations that we see that don't make operational sense. ie: one set of stairs for a multi flight operation, etc... We always get a response back from MGMT on these reports too. It helps us... and it helps the operation.

I've seen so much fixed as a result of communication up the pipeline.

Ralgha... I read your whole statement... even the end. I don't blame you at all for what you saw and wrote. I can't even come up with a good excuse since I have not yet been to the Monterrey station myself. But... I can hope that if the pilots saw what was going on... and saw how it affected XJT's appearance to the customers... that they would have fired off a PIREP to managment asap.

In the past... we've walked a fine line between getting an on-time "out time" and not getting call from the CP... and addressing issues that may cause a late out time. Well... the CP in Ontario had a wonderful discussion with me on my 2nd day on the branded side. He said that no pilot will get in trouble for late "out-times"... and we need to fix the issues that are causing the lates in order for us to truly succeed. (Rampers not knowing what's going on... gate agents not boarding fast enough... no coordination on the ramp ie: tug not hooked up... fuel wasn't ordered in a timely manner... late bags... and more late bags... etc.) Again... in the past it was common practice to grab the "out-time" and then take care of this issues by re-opening the MCD, or bagdoor, or getting the bag count through the window, etc... While this practice did create goodwill with the station crews... all it really ever does is cover up the problems.

So... we've been working as more of a team lately to help fix the issues when we see them. I've seen more pilots take more of a sincere personal interest in the "look" of the company and the customer interests than ever before. For example... upon arriving to the station from an overnight... we now tell the agents EXACTLY what paperwork we need, when we need it, when to board, etc... and then ask them if there are any forseeable problems to us getting out on time today. If there are issues that we can help with... then we do. I tracked down a wheel chair for a customer in ABQ this morning... Yesterday, I showed an agent how to bring up the weather packet... and I stayed at the bottom of the jetway to direct passengers to our plane as they came down on the ramp since the other ramp crew were busy with a push.

I hope this sense of teamwork continues and we don't keep trying to "cover up" the problems... and eventually... I hope it bleeds over to the COEX side as well.

Bob
 
Ralgha said:
Good lord did you read the last line? I didn't say the whole company is like that, I didn't allude to it, I didn't insinuate it, I didn't hint at it. Regardless, that's exactly the response I expected, which was the point of my post, to test that theory. Thanks for proving my theory correct.
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Of course. That's why you penned five paragraphs in high detail about your one experience. Because you weren't alluding, insinuating, or hinting at anything.

Riiiiggght.

So now, you're either a liar, a troll, or an idiot. Good one.
 
I chose a greatly financially sound company to go work with...

Then a few rotten CEO's prance by, the board of directors is asleep the wheel and then comes October 2005.

Agree to disagree, sure but I've experienced a little something different first hand.
 
I've been using Xjet for my GEG-ONT commute for a while. I was involved in an inflight fuel leak and emergency landing in Spokane. While you could have second guessed a few things Xjet did that day, I was impressed with the 110% effort I saw out of the rampers/station manager. They really try hard and are super nice folks. The crews I've met, to include some F/O's straight out of middle school, have been very nice and professional. The loads are less than spectacular, in my estimation, but they offer a product that is superior in many ways to the competition. And I say that as a big supporter, highest tier FF program, board room member, AS/QX, customer. And SWA doesn't come close. Xjet is way better.
 
I agree with both you guys (Doug and Merit). The best you can do is make the most sound decision you can, at the time you need to make it, with all the information available to you at that time. After that, blow on your fist, rattle them bones, and If I Dont Get a Seven Ain't a Jeeesus!
 
DE727UPS said:
I've been using Xjet for my GEG-ONT commute for a while. I was involved in an inflight fuel leak and emergency landing in Spokane. While you could have second guessed a few things Xjet did that day, I was impressed with the 110% effort I saw out of the rampers/station manager. They really try hard and are super nice folks. The crews I've met, to include some F/O's straight out of middle school, have been very nice and professional. The loads are less than spectacular, in my estimation, but they offer a product that is superior in many ways to the competition. And I say that as a big supporter, highest tier FF program, board room member, AS/QX, customer. And SWA doesn't come close. Xjet is way better.
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Ralgha, take notes. This is how you do it. Ya gotta be subtle.
 
Gee. An airline that treats its employees and passengers well...and they...they...like it?!

Wow...perish the thought that there's only one other airline that seems to generate that kind of refreshing public response...
 
Kilbilly! Bite your tounge! Remember, we're 'lowering the bar for the industry' on account of the fact that we're a 'regional airline'.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
 
CapnJim said:
Kilbilly! Bite your tounge! Remember, we're 'lowering the bar for the industry' on account of the fact that we're a 'regional airline'.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
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What do I know? I'm just a wannabe at the moment...:)
 
I've been skeptical of the future of XJT ever sense I started applying to the SJP'ers. Their contract with CAL is too vague for me. Of the new flying with DAL, only 10 were put in a fee-for-departure program due to the limitations with CAL's CPA, which to me tells me they negotiated a much smaller margin into their contract with DAL (otherwise it wouldn't of affected the CAL CPA). In addition, they put 8 additional aircraft on risk-associated flying with DAL...it sounds to me like they were really trying to find homes for those planes.


I personally wouldn't go there, I think it's too much of a gamble until CAL announces what they are doing with the additional 25% of their fleet.
 
wheelsup said:
I've been skeptical of the future of XJT ever sense I started applying to the SJP'ers. Their contract with CAL is too vague for me. Of the new flying with DAL, only 10 were put in a fee-for-departure program due to the limitations with CAL's CPA, which to me tells me they negotiated a much smaller margin into their contract with DAL (otherwise it wouldn't of affected the CAL CPA). In addition, they put 8 additional aircraft on risk-associated flying with DAL...it sounds to me like they were really trying to find homes for those planes.


I personally wouldn't go there, I think it's too much of a gamble until CAL announces what they are doing with the additional 25% of their fleet.
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I don't think that's the case at all. Personally, I think fee for departure is going away as fast as the mainline carriers can drop it and this is just an example of it.

And I doubt CAL is going to take away another 25% of Express Jet's fleet. To begin, "even if CAL has any more bullets left, I'm not too sure they have another foot to shoot."

Further, even if those planes get "taken away," I'm willing to bet that the guys up top at Express Jet will simply use the opportunity to shuffle more flying over to the Delta side of things if that's going well. Delta is just as interested as CAL to diversify their flying after what happened with the Comair strike. So more flying for Express Jet on the west coast for Delta? Sure! Why not? It means that if Skywest tanks for some reason that they won't lose all that lift.
 
I'm not trying to show that Ralgha's experience doesn't deserve to be scrutinized, but I'm a former Mesa ramper in San Luis Obispo, and 90% of us rampers worked very hard for a safe and expeditious turn and in no way did we reflect how Mesa is run as a company. If someone noticed our hard work, which few did, then they might assume Mesa is a pretty well run company. But when it comes to rampers, and flight crews I would assume too, it doesn’t always reflect whether that particular company runs things well or not.

Jtsastre
 
What's being scrutinized is not the individual experiences of a bad day for an ExpressJet crew or ground personel; all airlines have problems here and there, every day, in this or that department. There is no airline anywhere that runs perfectly in all departments, at all bases and outstations, 100% of the time. Occasional operational hiccups are a fact of life for even the best-run operation.

What's being scrutinized is that, in a thread about the future of ExpressJet, is people saying "Well, this one time, at this one place, I saw this one thing happen..."

Intentional or no, it encourages the logical fallacy of the "hasty generalization", in which onsey-twosie examples are presented to the exclusion of the operation as a whole, an operation, by the way, which is earmarked by excellent on time statistics, incredibly low operational MX issues, and an increasing contingent of satisfied customers.

Put another way, for every glitch someone goes to great length to delineate, I can give 95+ examples of times when things went perfectly, and more than a few where things went outstandingly. If need be, I can even pull up our performance stats and comments from satisfied customers to back it up. So it's all in where you want to get your evidence from; the singular example, or the overal picture. Educated people know the right answer.

Peace, Ya'll!
 
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