There is so much misinformation here it is scary. I think everyone needs to sit down, open a beer, and relax. No deals have been made. ExpressJet has not announced furloughs yet, if at all. We are not removing airplanes from Continental service for another 18 months, if at all. SkyWest has not come even remotely close to an acceptable offer for a merger.
The only thing that occurred this week was a meeting between SkyWest management (led by a very arrogant Jerry Atkin, from what I hear) and the ExpressJet MEC. After this meeting, our MEC published exactly what SkyWest put on the table, which is not close to reality.
I will be the first to admit that our Branded operation is not doing well, and therefore we have continued to lose money. Should we shut down that operation, a furlough is likely, unless we do not find a home for those 30-something airplanes. If anyone here--including SkyWest pilots--believe that ExpressJet is the only regional airline in trouble right now, you better snap back to reality. We all are in trouble. Fuel is not getting cheaper, and our major airline partners are still in the red. United, which accounts for a massive amount of SkyWest's business, is suffering tremendously. Delta, which accounts for another massive piece of SkyWest's business is looking to reduce regional feed and is in the middle of merger talks with Northwest. Midwest Airlines is not doing exceptionally well in terms of financials, either.
If you want my opinion, this is a desperate move by SkyWest management to eliminate a major competitor for cheap. They can back-door their way into a Continental deal, eliminate the competition for Delta feed (which is exactly what ExpressJet is now with our LAX base, since we are adding more planes to that operation), and have a backup plan should something terrible happen to United. The SkyWest pilots here need to take a long hard look at what is going on in their world before they start worrying about the hardball between ExpressJet and Continental. In short order things can become very rough at any of our airlines.
Personally, I just am hoping the industry as a whole does not collapse under the weight of $200 per barrel oil. I want to ask the SkyWest pilots: What are you going to do to protect your interests should things go south at United or Midwest?