Pinnacle Reprieve, DL Cuts 50% of RJ 50s
Pinnacle and Delta are in negotiations to resolve differences in how the Delta Connection performed but Delta has given the regional airline a reprieve from the July 31 termination of Delta Connection operations, accoreding to Pinnacle's latest SEC filing. The two parties, who disagree as to whether or not Pinnacle met performance requirements, agreed to discuss the situation in an effort to resolve it amicably and have further agreed that Pinnacle will continue operating nine aircraft pursuant to the DCA through September 2008. No assurance can be made that the parties will reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of the dispute beyond September 2008. Related Story
The scope of Delta’s cuts became evident in a New York Times analysis which showed Delta was cutting 77 of its 130 50 seaters or half of its Bombardier CRJ 100/200s to 20 of its 451 mainline aircraft. American, meanwhile is cutting 75 of the 305 regional aircraft including Saab 340s and 50-seat Embraers along with 45 of its 655-aircraft mainline fleet. Only seven of Continental’s 278 regional aircraft will be cut – all CRJ 200s – while the mainline carriers will 37 of its 375 aircraft. At the time of the article United and Northwest had announced no plans to cut regional aircraft, but since then United announced the cancellation of Chautauqua’s contract as of December 31, 2009. Northwest, meanwhile is cutting 47 of 355 mainline aircraft; United 80 of its 460 aircraft and US Airways six of its 357 mainliners.

Chautauqua to Lose UA in ’09, DL Cuts 50% of 50 Seaters
United has terminated its capacity purchase agreement with Chautauqua dropping the seven Embraer ERJ 145s effective December 31, 2009. The major carrier’s agreement with Shuttle America, also part of the Republic Airways Holdings, remains unaffected, according to Republic’s latest SEC filing. Cynthia Szadokierski, vice president – United Express and airport Operations Planning, notified the carrier in a July 1 letter.

XJT to Close LAX, SLC
Citing losses from high fuel costs, ExpressJet and Delta have cancelled their Delta Connection arrangement at Los Angeles and Salt Lake, effective September 1 after only a year. ExpressJet loses its entire Delta Connection operation which entails flying 23 Embraer ERJ-145s at Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The Delta service was ExpressJet’s first bid to expand its customer base away from the heavy reliance on Continental, but has instead resulted in its planned return of 30 of the 69 jets it leased from Continental when it lost 25 percent of its Continental Express service to Republic. Delta is awarding the Salt Lake service to another Delta Connection, likely SkyWest Airlines.
"With the losses we were experiencing from our Delta pro-rate flying combined with our ability to return aircraft to the lessor, this termination of service is in the best interest of our company," said Jim Ream, XJT president and chief executive officer.
The announcement came after a mutual agreement between XJT and Delta. “We are pleased to be able to reach a mutual agreement on the termination of our partnership with ExpressJet,” said Don Bornhorst, senior vice president – Delta Connection. “
The move cancels service to 13 cities from LAX, including Boise, Idaho; Denver; Eugene, Ore.; Spokane, Wash.; Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Phoenix; Reno, Nevada; Seattle; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; Sacramento, Calif., and Tulsa, Okla. The cuts are the deepest so far at LAX, according to the Los Angeles Times. Delta is the fourth largest carrier at the airport but will drop its 93 daily flights to 60 by Labor Day.

Trans States Loses AE Flying in Pilot Deal
American Eagle and pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) have reached an accord aimed at preserving pilot jobs as it parks 65 regional airliners in response to fuel prices. The deal includes voluntary both leaves of absence and part-time flying. The deal also includes the return of 10 Embraer 145s from Trans States to Eagle beginning in 2009 at a rate of two per month. The move preserves about 100 pilot jobs and results from grievances filed by the pilots after American Eagle announced the flying for Trans States and Chautauqua, which, seems for the moment, unaffected.

520 Comair Employees to be Cut
Comair announced 300 pilots and 220 flight attendants will be cut this fall and the airline will ground 14 of the airline’s 128 RJs, part of the fallout wrought by Delta’s capacity reduction announcements. The company currently employs 6,400 with most staff cuts in New York where more aircraft are being dropped.

Jazz Drops Capacity 5%
As the result of Air Canada’s announced domestic and transbornder capacity reduction between two percent and 13 percent, respectively, Jazz is reducing its own capacity by five percent. The cuts become effective in the fourth quarter 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. The move means layoffs for about 270 Jazz employee while Air Canada expects to reduce employment by 2,000 or seven percent.
Jazz is still working on the specific route cuts but announced earlier this year that it was ending service at Hamilton, Ontario and Comox, British Columbia. At this point is not intending to ground any of its 137-aircraft fleet.
"These are difficult times for our industry and the decision to reduce our workforce was not reached lightly; it is with sadness that we'll see some of our employees leave our company", said Joseph Randell, president and CEO. "We've grown very strong as a team and have overcome many difficult challenges over the past number of years. Every effort is being made to mitigate these job losses, and we hope this downturn in our industry's cycle ends soon. We are in a period of great uncertainty and cannot predict where the price of fuel is going. We have taken immediate action to better match our resources with our new revenue levels. While Jazz is already a lean organization and is in a reasonable position to manage its current challenges, every effort is being made to reduce our costs and to prepare for what may lie ahead."
Jazz has already established a number of fuel-saving initiatives, recently froze all hiring and non-critical staff overtime, and instituted a number of other cost-saving programs. Being a Six Sigma organization has made Jazz a more efficient airline and the focus to ensure we remain competitive is constant.
Airlines are currently operating in a very high-cost environment worldwide. In addition to soaring fuel prices, airlines in Canada must also contend with federal and provincial fuel excise taxes, security fees, NavCanada fees and airport charges that rank amongst the most expensive in the world. It is important to recognize the severity of the situation facing the entire aviation industry and ultimately our communities. All industry partners should make every effort to operate as efficiently as possible without compromising safety