readywhenyouare

I wonder why the mainline DL pilots wouldn't just agree to a lower payscale for the E-195 or C-Series? It wouldn't be replacing any aircraft already in the fleet so it's not like any current DL pilots would be flying it anyway.

firstmob

Per their last SEC filing Delta has no 787 options.

DL2SXM

The announcement should come soon. The end of the month falls on a weekend, with the exception of the 31st. Hopefully we don't have to wait that long!

FWAAA

I don't know about E195s, but US currently flies 20 E190s with mainline pilots, mostly on the East coast shuttle routes. It worked before the merger because US paid its E190 pilots substantially less than even jetBlue's non-union E190 pilots. Don't know whether they'll be retained now that those US E190 pilots have been give huge payraises to bring them up to AA's pilot contract payrates (along with all other US Airways pilots).

Several reasons. For one, mainline airline pilots' unions initially agreed to scope exceptions for small commuter aircraft, like the 37-50 seat RJs. They were very reluctant to permit their employers to outsource the CRJ700/E170/E175s, finally agreeing to a 76-seat limit, almost as many seats as the smallest mainline planes in the 1960s and 1970s (like DC-9s).

Another reason is that E195s would replace some recently-departed planes, like the DC-9s, and on some routes, the recently arrived 717s.

Yet another reason that mainline pilots likely won't agree to a B-scale for 100-seaters is that they are typically unwilling to be the only lower-paid mainline employees, as the FAs, mechanics, baggage handlers and agents aren't willing to take paycuts to work on 90 to100 seaters. At regional airlines, every employee is lower-paid, so no one workgroup is shouldering all the concessions.

At Delta, of course, there aren't any unions other than the pilots, so it's theoretically possible for Ma Delta to simply tell those other workgroups that they'll be paid less to work on E190s/E195s/C-Series, but they risk revolt and a surge of turnover by angry employees if they tried that. At worst, DL might risk another unionization card drive, which might succeed.

The pilots' view is that if 90-seaters or 100-seaters make economic sense for the mainline legacy airlines, then their hourly payrates won't change those favorable economics.

While true, it's not all that essential to have options on the books when your first firm orders aren't scheduled for delivery until 2020. By time DL gets its first 18 787s, Boeing might not have such a big backlog of 787 orders.

N830MH

I think you talking about new E2 EMB190, E2 EMB195, and E2 EMB175, as well.

How about DL will order 40 E2 EMB 195 or E2 EMB175?

cfw

Well, I see where you're going with this, but RA said he was interested in the C-series, which is the same size. Unless he was talking about what he wants to see regional DL flying, not mainline.

N830MH

Actually, Republic/F9 has already order C-Series. They will delivery sometime in 2015 or so.

Beckles

I was thinking that they had gotten rid of all of them (you're right, they have E190's, not E195's), I believe they did get rid of some of them though, or did they back away from doing that and just redeploy them on the Shuttle routes instead? As you mention I believe that US got the pilots union to agree to a pretty low pay rate on those planes, but they are limited in how many they can have.

Beckles

The smallest C-Series is slightly larger than the E195, but it's important to remember that what that results in is the E195 should be the most efficient of its family while the smallest CSeries will be the least efficient of its family.
The CS300 will not enter service before 2016 at this point, and the Republic/F9 'order' for them is a 50/50 proposition to come to fruition at best I believe.

PowerFlyer

The E-195 and the E-190/CRJ900 already exist on the mainline pilot scale. (See e.g. http://www.willflyforfood.com/airlin...Air-Lines.html)

If DL wants to buy small jets and put them into the mainline fleet, they can start tomorrow (okay, not tomorrow, but as soon as they have fully trained pilots).

WestSideBilly

Some commentary on Boeing/Airbus looking at options to fill the gap between that RA was talking about...

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article....p14-673444.xml

MSPGabe

Also from what I've heard from friends at B6, The E190's are absolutely atrocious for maintenance.

DL2SXM

that's probably because B6 is maintaining them. Deltas tech ops is best in the business when it comes to maintenance.

tkey75

Ive been on more than one B6 E190 that was delayed due to maintenance. They are very comfortable, though.

DL2SXM

So, 'the end of the month' is very near. Unless they wait till Monday, there should be an announcement today or tomorrow.