Mesa air. That wonderful United Express provider seems to be needing a paddle as its going down a creek without it.
It seems as well as pulling it’s Dash-8 services (-300’s, not the latest Q400 series I should add – 10 aircraft), the CRJ-200 fleet is also being withdrawn by 30th April 2010 from United services – a total of 26 aircraft.
Cranky has an excellent analysis from the airlines Point of view, whilst Yahoo has a fiscal point of view. I’m going to to look the passenger point of view.
On a 50 seat plane, space is at an absolute premium. However, whilst a ERJ is 2.1 meters across, it fits passengers in, in a 1 x 2 seating environment. The CRJ itself is 2.48 across, but fits 4 passengers across in a 2 x 2 environment – thus these aircraft are uncomfortable for anything but the shortest ranges of flights .
The commercial properties of the 50 seat “express” market is an interesting one – and it takes real work and good operational flexibility to make it work (which is why FlyBE is in a comparatively better state) than Mesa – it runs its own contracts with some feed into BA’s network – and then that’s a minute number.
Indeed as Cranky points out – the efficiencies per seat don’t work well, and in some cases, airlines are signing contracts to keep aircraft in the air, where as others are repositioning.
Is this a chance for the Dash-8 Q400’s to make serious inroads? Or for CRJ-700/900 / ERJ-170/190 series to head to the mainline? I’m not sure – different markets desire different things, so the smaller jets will always have a place.
How much to keep them in the air – is alas another matter.
Whilst the 50 seat market is getting a lot tighter (CRJ-200, ERJ 135/145)
