Psa Files For Bigger Birds

[N628AU]

When I worked the Express ramp in CLT (for over 3 years), I can never recall leaving anything off a D38.

 

[Stuka Luva]

@ TBone

According to the Manager of Ground Training at Bombardier, it's a new record delivery schedule for this aircraft, and yes they can come that fast.

@ N628AU

It's the new pax and bag weights that are sinking the 328. 🙁

 

[ITRADE]

@ TBone

According to the Manager of Ground Training at Bombardier, it's a new record delivery schedule for this aircraft, and yes they can come that fast.

@ N628AU

It's the new pax and bag weights that are sinking the 328. 🙁

Good point.

Anyhow, still wondering if anybody has decided to pick up the Dorks. They're probably one of the best <50 seat aircraft out there - fast, quiet, comfortable, and situated well capacity-wise.

 

[PoorPropDriver]

Clearly, the largest problems for us operating the aircraft at PSA have been parts availability and the new passenger/bag weights. It would seem a 1500# gross weight increase would solve the problems and turn it back into a 32 seat airplane. An increase in landing weight wouldn't hurt either in that regard.

 

[flyin2low]

Some of the Dorks are in CAK waiting to be aquired by the lessors. They will probably be remodeled into a corporate config and re-leased.

 

[1ab]

Yeh i am pretty sure that PDT will be going soon but only the name I am pretty sure the employees will be around and serving usairways

 

[dragonbravo]

From what I hear around the hangar is that the Dorks are all spoken for. So they've already found people to pick them up. Rumor is that whoever is getting them, want them faster than they are being retired. I'm not to sure about this, because acording to our VP we have a 3 week window on when we actualy send the aircraft back. As for who is getting them, I've only heard rumors. I think a couple are going to Great Planes who have both the jet and prop. Many are going back to Europe. The jet has a higher takeoff weight so it would be nice to see them increase the weight for the prop, I don't know if they can or not.

 

[Bluestreak]

The dorks are in demand! They are are fast, quiet, and profitable. I've heard that if you run a dork on stage lengths longer than 1hr 30min, their operating costs drop as low as a Beech 1900. Lately, PSA's stage lengths are shrinking because all our cherry routes have been given to Mesa.

I heard some of our dorks are going to Great Plains Airlines. I think they are hiring pilots.

 

[AOG-N-IT]

@ TBone

According to the Manager of Ground Training at Bombardier, it's a new record delivery schedule for this aircraft, and yes they can come that fast.

@ N628AU

It's the new pax and bag weights that are sinking the 328. 🙁

N628AU is forgetting a study that CCAir had when the DO-328 was considerd as an option , that could have been converted to the 328Jet.

CCAirs VP of operations attended the 328jets roll out ceremony and came back with numerous technical documents on both variants of the 328. The Acft if obtained prior to what led to CC's sell-out to Mesa , would have in fact created situations in numerous markets where either passengers or bags would have taken a pinch.

CCAirs routes into OAJ , SOP and a few others , would have netted some if not all of the same problems that the under-sized DHC-100's and JS-31's had. This may not be so much of a case of the aircraft lacking anything....as much as it is / was a case of the wrong Acft being placed on the routes at times.

PI had the same issues when operating so-called mainline Acft into those cities years prior to the US/PI merger.

Liesure passengers with Golf bags...and Military travelers (especially new enlistee's with "Duffle Bags" containing their entire life can present problems in a regional of any type. Basically thier is no ideal way to handle this. A mainline jet of the right size could do it all....but the actual seating capacity Vs. the net yield would be a loser....The Regional is the same thing only in reverse.


BTW....Had CCAir remained free of Mesa's clutches?...and had CCAir gone forward with the token "dangling carrot" of a DO-328 or RJ that a certain VP was known to spread rumors of to any "New Hire" pilot class that was dumb enough to listen to him. CCAir might have never lasted long enough for Mesa to grab them. CCAir would have been bankrupted long before that , The monthly cost of a 328 of any discription in lease payments alone would have killed CC....the support costs of the 328 without being a WO would have added to a quicker death than it had.

 

[DOA@Airport]

CCAirs routes into OAJ , SOP and a few others , would have netted some if not all of the same problems that the under-sized DHC-100's and JS-31's had. This may not be so much of a case of the aircraft lacking anything....as much as it is / was a case of the wrong Acft being placed on the routes at times.

AOG-N-IT,

Good post...the baggage problem at OAJ continues, even with the DHC-200 & 300's. As you mentioned, the only thing that can solve this is mainline aircraft but the economics won't work.