3enginejock
Well-Known Member
Memo posted earlier today.
May 23, 2011 Fellow Mesaba and Colgan employees: This morning, US Airways and Delta announced an agreement to exchange a significant amount of takeoff and landing slots at New York’s LaGuardia and Washington’s Reagan National airports. Under this agreement, US Airways will transfer 132 LGA slot pairs to Delta and US Airways will receive 42 of Delta’s roundtrip flight slots at DCA. As a result, US Airways plans to reduce the number of Express flights from LGA in order to make their operation at that airport more economically viable. If approved, today’s decision will result in the discontinuation of most Express routes to and from LaGuardia Airport, including all of the flights we currently operate as an Express carrier. We expect regulatory approval to take up to 18 months to implement, and US Airways does not expect to begin the transition before next year. US Airways has committed to working with leaders from both Mesaba and Pinnacle Airlines Corp. in order to explore other options for the affected aircraft, and we are committed to pursuing flight opportunities with other airlines as well. As the transition period draws closer, we will work with each of our affected employees regarding their options, which will consist of opportunities throughout the Pinnacle Airlines Corp. network, including Pinnacle’s JFK operation and Colgan’s EWR operation. Last December, when we agreed to begin flying as a US Airways Express carrier, we saw it as an important opportunity for Mesaba to expand its service offerings and to continue building towards a strong future for our airline and its employees. Today’s announcement is certainly a setback; however, the leadership team at both Mesaba and Pinnacle Airlines Corp. are fully committed to finding new opportunities for our employees and ensuring that our airline prospers. In the meantime, we ask you to focus on what you have been doing – running a safe, reliable operation – and to continue taking care of all of our customers. Sincerely, John Spanjers President, Mesaba Airlines
May 23, 2011 Fellow Mesaba and Colgan employees: This morning, US Airways and Delta announced an agreement to exchange a significant amount of takeoff and landing slots at New York’s LaGuardia and Washington’s Reagan National airports. Under this agreement, US Airways will transfer 132 LGA slot pairs to Delta and US Airways will receive 42 of Delta’s roundtrip flight slots at DCA. As a result, US Airways plans to reduce the number of Express flights from LGA in order to make their operation at that airport more economically viable. If approved, today’s decision will result in the discontinuation of most Express routes to and from LaGuardia Airport, including all of the flights we currently operate as an Express carrier. We expect regulatory approval to take up to 18 months to implement, and US Airways does not expect to begin the transition before next year. US Airways has committed to working with leaders from both Mesaba and Pinnacle Airlines Corp. in order to explore other options for the affected aircraft, and we are committed to pursuing flight opportunities with other airlines as well. As the transition period draws closer, we will work with each of our affected employees regarding their options, which will consist of opportunities throughout the Pinnacle Airlines Corp. network, including Pinnacle’s JFK operation and Colgan’s EWR operation. Last December, when we agreed to begin flying as a US Airways Express carrier, we saw it as an important opportunity for Mesaba to expand its service offerings and to continue building towards a strong future for our airline and its employees. Today’s announcement is certainly a setback; however, the leadership team at both Mesaba and Pinnacle Airlines Corp. are fully committed to finding new opportunities for our employees and ensuring that our airline prospers. In the meantime, we ask you to focus on what you have been doing – running a safe, reliable operation – and to continue taking care of all of our customers. Sincerely, John Spanjers President, Mesaba Airlines
