The Red Tail Whipsaw continues: 15 Pinnacle CRJs over to Mesaba

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

Confirmed by multiple pilot postings on flightinfo from their 'MyMesaba' webpage.

NWA taking away 15 PNCL CRJs, starting September at a rate of two per month.

It was part of the ASA with NWA that if a pilot contract wasn't signed by March 31, then NWA could pull 15 CRJs out. Guess they are doing that now.

I'm glad that PNCL pilots are sticking to their guns and not settling for anything less than what they deserve.

 

[Malko]

Ignore my previous response, see article just published in the MSP paper:

NWA to move 17 jets from Pinnacle to Mesaba
By Liz Fedor, Star Tribune
Last update: April 27, 2007 – 12:06 AM

Northwest Airlines indicated Thursday that it will shift a big chunk of its regional flying from Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines to its newly acquired subsidiary, Eagan-based Mesaba Airlines.

For Mesaba, which had scaled back operations substantially since following Northwest into bankruptcy some 18 months ago, the decision will mean hundreds of new hires.

Tom Wychor, chairman of the Mesaba branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, estimated Mesaba will need about 150 more pilots to accommodate the new flying.

"We'll need to hire additional pilots, flight attendants and mechanics," Mesaba President John Spanjers said in a message to employees late Thursday.

Pinnacle will lose 17 regional jets to Mesaba because of failure to negotiate a labor agreement with its pilots union by March 31. Northwest had notified Pinnacle in December that it must meet that deadline or risk losing the jets.

Northwest will start reallocating the planes to Mesaba in September.

Mesaba now is operating 49 Saab turboprops and one 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) for Northwest. The jets Mesaba is gaining from Pinnacle have 50 seats, and Mesaba will be allocated a 50-seater from Compass, another Northwest regional subsidiary.

"Northwest put an unreasonable deadline on us getting a new contract," said Wakefield Gordon, chairman of the Pinnacle pilots union. "We didn't make the deadline, and we lost the airplanes."

Northwest will continue to contract with Pinnacle to operate 124 50-seat CRJs.

Mesaba already expects to hire about 800 people through 2008 to staff ground and flight operations for three dozen new 76-seat CRJs that it will operate for Northwest.

By the end of next year, Mesaba's fleet is expected to reach 102.

That expansion "will return Mesaba to the size it was before bankruptcy," Wychor said in a Thursday interview. The carrier filed for bankruptcy in October 2005 and emerged this week from Chapter 11 as a subsidiary of Northwest.

Pinnacle's Gordon said that management and the union have not had any bargaining sessions since they missed Northwest's deadline.

Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709 • lfedor@startribune.com

 

[Seggy]

Oh, joy!

 

[meyers9163]

So really what does this mean for PCL? I mean before now they were canceling flights because lack of staff etc right? So I mean they were extremely under numbers and had staffing issues so will this really have a great effect on the flying? Perhaps those are unreasonable questions to answer but it got me wondering. I mean I dont see this changing things too dramatically at PCL or am I wrong? Upgrades probably will remain the same with losing guys constantly with lateral movements and majors or what have ya?

 

[EDUC8-or]

They might be short crews, but most places staff their airplanes around 5 total crews (that's 5 CA's, FO's, and FA's) per airplane. I don't work over there, but it's hard to believe they are that short.

 

[Airdale]

Great. I wonder if this giant turd is gonna roll downhill to us. I wish we were still owned by the Colgans. PCL scares me.

 

[kellwolf]

Great. I wonder if this giant turd is gonna roll downhill to us. I wish we were still owned by the Colgans. PCL scares me.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. The "it's the pilots' fault we're losing these planes" mumbo jumbo is already starting from managment. If we had signed their "non-concessionary" contract, we'd still have 'em. Personally, I say take 'em. We're not using them right now anyway since we're cancelling flights due to staffing. They're taking them back 2 a month starting in September, so....uh, yeah. Summer is STILL gonna be tough. Why September? Because Mesaba can't staff them till then either! Probably it's gonna be the same situation over there, just without the union-busting clause in the contract (there was a clause in the new ASA with NWA saying they could remove the planes if there was no pilot contract signed by 3/31/07...and there wasn't). Instead of us, MESABA will be cancelling flights. I'm not sure how their hiring is going over there, but I have a hard time believing that they've got guys swamping the doors when no one else can fill classes. Now they need another 150 pilots?

As far as upgrade, who knows. They just lowered the mins here, so that opens the door for a lot of FOs that were on the brink. It's possible we might even lose MORE CAs if they thing this place is going to hell in a handbasket faster. We're starting to lose more guys to the 135 side in addition to the majors now.

This also just adds fuel to the "pump 'em up and spin 'em off" philosophy that NWA uses with their wholly owned regionals. I expect Mesaba to be spun off in an IPO in 3-5 years and make NWA a ton of money.....just like we did.

 

[derg]

Be afraid. Be very afraid. The "it's the pilots' fault we're losing these planes" mumbo jumbo is already starting from managment.

Geez. Someone have a union representation vote coming up at PCL?

 

[kellwolf]

Geez. Someone have a union representation vote coming up at PCL?

We just had elections earlier this year, including MEC Chairman. The same guy we've had for 8 years go re-elected, then curiously announced a few weeks ago he's stepping down. Who knows what's going on. I've heard the rumor more than once that he's going to be our new CP.