Who'll be the first to furlough again?

[Yuppyguppy]

Try Chicago...3.95 87 octane downtown

 

[vetrider]

For my sake I hope your wrong.

Why even start the thread then? You gotta know 90% of the answers from the peanut gallery are going to finger us.

 

[becket]

You gotta know 90% of the answers from the peanut gallery are going to finger us.

It's USAPA that's doing the fingering.

 

[dogg]

Most likely.....AAG....historically they furlough right after big profit....keeps the believers in line......

 

[100 c.i.]

Most likely.....AAG....historically they furlough right after big profit....keeps the believers in line......

If oil doesnt back off in a couple of weeks, all the airlines will furlough in mass!

 

[Roomwithaview]

Swa

I'm sure it will be Southwest. We don't have enough capital, credit or leverage. We don't have a strong presence in enough cites. We don't have adequate hedges. Our management hates us and we hate them as well. They'll do like they've done in the past and furlough employees, especially pilots as soon as there is any kind of glitch in the economy or the price of oil. SWA doesn't prepare for the bad times as well as the other major airlines. That's why we've had so many losing quarters, unprofitable years and furloughs. Man, this place is a real $hit hole.

At least that's the picture SOME of the Airtran guys are painting for me on the other threads

 

[Jeff Helgeson]

Where do you get your demographics????

Low Cost Carriers will be effected first (Not SWA-they are not low cost) NKS, Virgin America, etc, will be the first effected. LCC is short on cash, but has some of the most retirements in the next five years.

In reality if the Fed raises interest rates, and the Middle East does not implode, we should see oil go down by at least 30%.

Most LCCs have not been in business that long. For the most part they have a younger work force. Where are the retirement for the LCCs?

 

[bizicmo]

I think in this post LCC is US airways and not low cost carrier.

 

[ackattacker]

If oil doesnt back off in a couple of weeks, all the airlines will furlough in mass!

I'll make sure to be elsewhere on Sunday mornings then!!!

Perhaps you meant "en masse"??

I'm just joking around, I'm not really the resident grammar nazi.

In any case, I disagree. I think most of the majors are well equipped to weather a summer of high oil prices and you will not see any furloughs unless oil tops $150 a barrel.

 

[General Lee]

I'm sure it will be Southwest. We don't have enough capital, credit or leverage. We don't have a strong presence in enough cites. We don't have adequate hedges. Our management hates us and we hate them as well. They'll do like they've done in the past and furlough employees, especially pilots as soon as there is any kind of glitch in the economy or the price of oil. SWA doesn't prepare for the bad times as well as the other major airlines. That's why we've had so many losing quarters, unprofitable years and furloughs. Man, this place is a real $hit hole.

At least that's the picture SOME of the Airtran guys are painting for me on the other threads

You are correct according to this article. Sounds like GK MIGHT be a bit worried about Airtran's lack of hedging. Could he be a bit dramatic to help his cause? Maybe. Maybe that Senator should ask GK about Guadalupe Holdings or whatever....


Southwest CEO: AirTran Deal 'Imperative' To Counter Fuel Spike

PEWAUKEE, Wis. (Dow Jones)--The head of Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) said Friday it is "absolutely imperative" the company completes its planned merger with AirTran Holdings Inc. (AAI) as a hedge against soaring jet fuel costs.
Gary Kelly, chairman, president and chief executive of Dallas-based Southwest, said both carriers could be forced to shrink without a deal the companies aim to close in the second quarter of this year.

Kelly's comments came during testimony before the Senate Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights subcommittee.

The Justice Department in November made a second request for information on the planned deal that would expand Southwest's domestic capacity by more than a fifth and provide entry to key markets such as Atlanta for the first time.
The proposed deal has attracted little opposition from rivals and lawmakers compared with recent consolidation in the U.S. industry.

The field hearing was called by Sen. Herb Kohl (D., Wis.), who in his opening remarks planned to question the potential impact of the deal on competition from Milwaukee's Mitchell Airport. Southwest and AirTran would have a combined 39% share at the airport. The experience of other airline mergers in recent years gives us reason for caution," said Kohl. Of the Southwest/AirTran deal he said: "I get the feeling that there are goods and bads to it."

Kelly said the enlarged airline would provide "Milwaukee-area customers with access to an even stronger and nationwide low-fare, low-cost carrier network."
He declined to provide Sen. Kohl with a guarantee that Southwest would maintain the airlines' combined capacity at Milwaukee after the deal closes, citing the uncertainty created by fuel prices. "We want to grow...but we have to do that in a fiscally responsible way," he said. Diana Moss, vice president of the American Antitrust Institute, called AirTran a "maverick" and said there was a risk of fares rising and capacity cuts. "It is clear that AirTran is an aggressive discounter relative to Southwest," she said. "Fares could edge higher and rivalry diminish."

Kelly said Southwest was unlikely to maintain AirTran's crew base--of 70 to 90 pilots--in Milwaukee after a merger, though he expected the number of airport staff to expand as it worked to boost frequencies. He also said Southwest has yet to determine the fate of AirTran's code share deal with Skywest Airlines Inc. (SKYW). Southwest's pilots' contract precludes domestic code sharing.



Bye Bye---General Lee