Excluding the 1900's, the Express fleet is 152 aircraft. That is probably as big as it will get considering known planned aircraft retirements and aging fleet. The RRA language will give AC the ability to replace 25 of the 75 seat Express jets using the surplus 190's if ACPA gives AC what it wants for the 190 pay rate. In theory, AC could then go out and acquire other used 190's and expand the RRA to replace all of the Express 75 seat jet flying. Going from 75 to 97 seats is not a meaningful capacity increase and the 190's are the most comfortable sub-100 seat aircraft on the market. And once JetBlue announces a 190 replacement, there will be many first generation 190's available at attractive pricing.GATRKGA wrote:It's starting to smell like the end of expansion at express... is that how anyone else sees it?
The only person who knows the actual plan is on the top floor of AC HQ. Express was all about getting a better deal on labour expense. The more that the AC unions do to give AC lower cost and increased productivity, the more likely AC will remain in the sub-100 seat business.