AirTran cuts again for '09

[Max Powers]

apply_behaviours(); jQuery(document).ready(function($){ if (document.all) { $("#share-links li").hoverClass("sfHover"); } }); jQuery.fn.hoverClass = function(c) { return this.each(function(){ jQuery(this).hover( function() { jQuery(this).addClass(c); }, function() { jQuery(this).removeClass(c); } ); }); }; var articleLocation = document.URL.replace(/(http:\/\/.*?\/).*?(\/.*)/, '$1services$2'); var buzzURL = encodeURIComponent(articleLocation.split('?')[0]); ajc.com > Business > Delta
AirTran cutting flight capacity

By KELLY YAMANOUCHI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
AirTran Airways plans to cut its flight capacity by 3 to 7 percent next year, after reversing its growth plans this year.
AirTran, which is based in Orlando and has its main hub in Atlanta, is “focused more on liquidity than ever before,” said AirTran chief executive Bob Fornaro during a presentation at the Credit Suisse Global Airline Conference in New York on Tuesday.



AirTran already has cut its capacity by 6 to 7 percent in the fourth quarter of this year.
AirTran and other airlines are cutting capacity as they see demand slowing due to the recession.


Great more furloughs then?

 

[gearup5]

hope not... we can't cover the schedule as it is.

 

[scrub]

Make plans boys and girls, the end is getting near! I'm not bashing just being realistic, I'm starting my eighth year here and will probabally be on reserve next year, most likely the whole year!

 

[Captjiggles]

I miss JL.

 

[Max Powers]

I miss JL.

JL and his hard charging - "grow at all costs and don't worry about the balance sheet or acquiring assets when assets can be leased" THIS IS WHY WE ARE WHERE WE ARE TODAY!

 

[islandhoper]

I agree.... We are paying for mistakes done 2-3 years ago. Both JL and BF were here then.
The growth was fine just not where it was needed...

This sucks. Been here 5 years and I'm going back to the right seat...

 

[FIREMAN]

The Reduction Award RN 08-12 is hereby cancelled.
The Company will be recalling some pilots from furlough to satisfy Vacancy Notice (VN 08-12)
which remains in effect. The reason for this change in staffing is the revised fleet and utilization​

plan for 2009. The original plan called for 136 aircraft shrinking to 132 by year’s end with a​

lowered utilization rate throughout the year due to the then projected cost of fuel above $105 per
barrel. Current projections are still for a reduced fleet of 132 aircraft, but with significant
increases in aircraft utilization, especially on the B717. The net result will be an increased need
f​

or pilots on both aircraft types by summer 2009 and so the “rebalancing” of pilots from B737 to
B717 is no longer a beneficial move.​

Recall notices are being distributed and the vacancies will be filled by recalled pilots.

 

[gt1900]

HMMM... Do you guys ever get sick of being so negative???? WE ARE RECALLING PILOTS....... But then again I guess everything is JL and BF's fault..... I guess the $72 million AAI is projected to earn in 2009 is not enough for you guys. Guess what, Load factors are up again for Nov...... Get over it guys, this industry sucks, but AAI managment is doing what it takes to stay in business for a long, long time...

Scrub.... Looks like your gonna go up in the seniority list.....

 

[Max Powers]

The Reduction Award RN 08-12 is hereby cancelled.
The Company will be recalling some pilots from furlough to satisfy Vacancy Notice (VN 08-12)
which remains in effect. The reason for this change in staffing is the revised fleet and utilization​

plan for 2009. The original plan called for 136 aircraft shrinking to 132 by year’s end with a​

lowered utilization rate throughout the year due to the then projected cost of fuel above $105 per
barrel. Current projections are still for a reduced fleet of 132 aircraft, but with significant
increases in aircraft utilization, especially on the B717. The net result will be an increased need
f​

or pilots on both aircraft types by summer 2009 and so the “rebalancing” of pilots from B737 to
B717 is no longer a beneficial move.​

Recall notices are being distributed and the vacancies will be filled by recalled pilots.

Ok I feel better now....thanks I needed that....

 

[maxblast72]

That 3-7% ASM reduction number for 2009 has been out there for some time now. With todays announcement about increased aircraft utilization, it looks like it will be closer to the 3% number which is good for all Airtran employees.

 

[maxblast72]

HMMM... Do you guys ever get sick of being so negative???? WE ARE RECALLING PILOTS....... But then again I guess everything is JL and BF's fault..... I guess the $72 million AAI is projected to earn in 2009 is not enough for you guys. Guess what, Load factors are up again for Nov...... Get over it guys, this industry sucks, but AAI managment is doing what it takes to stay in business for a long, long time...

I guess all the extra fees Airtran has implemented aren't hurting demand to bad. Southwest is running commercials on every football game I have watched this fall about no extra fees yet there year of year load factor decreased 6% for November. American and Continentals load factors down 3-4% as well. I wouldn't stick the fork in Airtran just yet.

Fornaro wouldn't be cranking up the 2009 aircraft utilization levels unless he felt it would be a cash positive proposition. I give Airtran's business plan a better chance of working with low fuel prices and a slow economy than high fuel prices and a decent economy.

In addition, the 2009 projected profit is closer to $85 million. We have about 117 million outstanding shares and the analyst EPS average estimate for 2009 off Airtran.com is $0.72.

 

[RIDETHELIGHTING]

HMMM... Do you guys ever get sick of being so negative????

I know that is why I cant read this dumba$$ board anymore.

 

[Ty Webb]

HMMM... Do you guys ever get sick of being so negative???? WE ARE RECALLING PILOTS....... But then again I guess everything is JL and BF's fault.....

Wow . . . . a real, live cheerleader.

I don't know about you, pal, but 4 years without a raise, the constant re-interpretations, the threats of terminating furloughees, the contract hostages, the lack of respect, the crappy hotels, and lame middle management that can't seem to find its collective ass with both hands . . . . bungled fuel hedging, bungled mergers, bungled FA furloughs, bungled scheduling, bungled planning, bungled forecasting . . . and furloughs that are now proving to be an expensive experiment . . . . . but, hey, if you have little to no self respect, I guess it suits you fine. At least you have your hat.

Ty

 

[maxblast72]

I don't know about you, pal, but 4 years without a raise, the constant re-interpretations, the threats of terminating furloughees, the contract hostages, the lack of respect, the crappy hotels, and lame middle management that can't seem to find its collective ass with both hands . . . . bungled fuel hedging, bungled mergers, bungled FA furloughs, bungled scheduling, bungled planning, bungled forecasting . . . and furloughs that are now proving to be an expensive experiment . . . . . but, hey, if you have little to no self respect, I guess it suits you fine. At least you have your hat.

Ty

I agree with alot of what you are saying but lets see what the voter turnout is for this election next week. Having a 60%-70% voter turnout doesn't exactly send any strong messages to anybody. How long does it take to read a few position papers, ask a few questions on a forum or to other pilots, and vote? If we can't even get guys to do this, I doubt our SPC is going to have an easy job over the next 12 months.

 

[PCL_128]

I agree with alot of what you are saying but lets see what the voter turnout is for this election next week. Having a 60%-70% voter turnout doesn't exactly send any strong messages to anybody.

Hell, I'd be happy to get a 60% turnout. I think we'll be lucky if we break 45% at this rate.

 

[Citrus531]

Wow . . . . a real, live cheerleader.

I don't know about you, pal, but 4 years without a raise, the constant re-interpretations, the threats of terminating furloughees, the contract hostages, the lack of respect, the crappy hotels, and lame middle management that can't seem to find its collective ass with both hands . . . . bungled fuel hedging, bungled mergers, bungled FA furloughs, bungled scheduling, bungled planning, bungled forecasting . . . and furloughs that are now proving to be an expensive experiment . . . . . but, hey, if you have little to no self respect, I guess it suits you fine. At least you have your hat.

Ty

5 years with a 50 cent raise once a year , making a cool $14.75 an hour now and almost living pay check to pay check, offered a choice in 2005 of a voluntary fulough from my then gate agent job or a choice of loading bags on the ramp, offered a class by American Eagle last May to chase my professional pilot dream only to be called back later saying "just kidding you have to stay at your AirTran job", lack of respect from every department questioning what we do in the tower, and having a slow student load as a CFI...god I love aviation(small hint of smart pilot sarcasm):0

Glad to hear the pilots are getting called back! Hopefully AirTran will be back strong again in 2009 and 2010.

 

[Ty Webb]

"Well . . . . the world needs ditch-diggers, too."

"SPAULDING! How many times must I warn you about your language?"

 

[RadioClash]

"Well . . . . the world needs ditch-diggers, too."

"SPAULDING! How many times must I warn you about your language?"

"Get dressed Spaulding you are playing golf."

"No I'm not, I'm playing tennis"

"You're playing golf"

"But what about my asthma?"

"I'll give you asthma"

 

[jimcav]

He's not a member grandma, he's a caddy!

 

[Monster Buck]

Funny timing. Drive for ALPA....followed by NEW info that brings back furloughed pilots......imagine that.
Same scenario at Jet Blue. Must be a coincidence.

 

[Mongolikecandy]

How many?

As one of the furloughed 171 I have made a concerted effort to stay away from this board for fear of either getting my hopes up or getting more angry. Now it begs the question... How many recalls are we talking about? When did that notice come out?

 

[Lear70]

The NPA was notified by the company a little after 5:00 p.m. yesterday, about the same time the notices got pasted in ops, and a bunch of pilots started calling NPA reps as well.

Nobody knows the exact number as far as I know. The company's not really speaking to the union right now...

The timing also makes me wonder... Part of the ole Eastern management two-step? "Take it away, then, when you give it back, they'll just be happy to have what they HAD ALREADY, and won't ask for as much after that".

Not kidding. This actually works, scarily enough. Congrats to the returning furloughees and CA's who won't get displaced,,, BUT,,, keep your eye on the ball...

 

[maxblast72]

The NPA was notified by the company a little after 5:00 p.m. yesterday, about the same time the notices got pasted in ops, and a bunch of pilots started calling NPA reps as well.

Nobody knows the exact number as far as I know. The company's not really speaking to the union right now...

The timing also makes me wonder... Part of the ole Eastern management two-step? "Take it away, then, when you give it back, they'll just be happy to have what they HAD ALREADY, and won't ask for as much after that".

Not kidding. This actually works, scarily enough. Congrats to the returning furloughees and CA's who won't get displaced,,, BUT,,, keep your eye on the ball...

Airtran just recently became free cash flow positive again as our fuel bill has come down $30-40 million a month since summer. That is a big factor in the recent decision to increase aircraft utilization next summer. Do you really think we would have added these block hours back into the schedule if Jet A was still north of $3/gallon?

That being said, pilot group expectations will be going up as analysts continue to predict better times for Airtran. As we only take 7 aircraft deliveries through the end of 2011 and we still have late 2004 hires that are still FOs at the end of 2011, I will be the first to say that our FO side of the payscale needs alot more work than for our Captains. Our FOs have had the largest career expectation change and should be the top priority in contract 2009.

 

[maxblast72]

As one of the furloughed 171 I have made a concerted effort to stay away from this board for fear of either getting my hopes up or getting more angry. Now it begs the question... How many recalls are we talking about? When did that notice come out?

I read the notice to mean none of the 35 announced 717 First Officer vacancies are going to be filled by 737 transitions caused by the cancelled reduction notice. Thus, the 35 717 First Officer vacancies will need to be filled by recalling 35 furloughed first officers since the rest of the pilot group will remain in their current seat. We have been pretty well staffed this fall in every seat except for 717 FO. That is why there was only a vacancy bid for 717 FO included in the December bid pack.

 

[USARET]

"Well . . . . the world needs ditch-diggers, too."

"SPAULDING! How many times must I warn you about your language?"

"The last time a saw a mouth like that it had a hook in it!"

 

[contrail67]

apply_behaviours(); jQuery(document).ready(function($){ if (document.all) { $("#share-links li").hoverClass("sfHover"); } }); jQuery.fn.hoverClass = function(c) { return this.each(function(){ jQuery(this).hover( function() { jQuery(this).addClass(c); }, function() { jQuery(this).removeClass(c); } ); }); }; var articleLocation = document.URL.replace(/(http:\/\/.*?\/).*?(\/.*)/, '$1services$2'); var buzzURL = encodeURIComponent(articleLocation.split('?')[0]); ajc.com > Business > Delta
AirTran cutting flight capacity

By KELLY YAMANOUCHI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
AirTran Airways plans to cut its flight capacity by 3 to 7 percent next year, after reversing its growth plans this year.
AirTran, which is based in Orlando and has its main hub in Atlanta, is “focused more on liquidity than ever before,” said AirTran chief executive Bob Fornaro during a presentation at the Credit Suisse Global Airline Conference in New York on Tuesday.



AirTran already has cut its capacity by 6 to 7 percent in the fourth quarter of this year.
AirTran and other airlines are cutting capacity as they see demand slowing due to the recession.


Great more furloughs then?

Another post said they are recalling.

 

[gt1900]

Ty.... Sorry, but if you expected anything else your an idiot. THIS IS THE AIRLINES.... It is a screwed up industry and always will be. It is never going to change. If you didn't know this when you signed up you should have became a doctor. Did you not research the history of the airlines??? Name 1 pax airline besides SWA that has happy pilots??? They don't exist dude, and they never really will... Alaska pilots are pissed at managment, AMR pilots are pissed at managment, UAL pilots are pissed at managment, USAIR pilots are pissed at managment, CAL pilots are pissed at managment, DAL and NWA pilots have basically given up being pissed at managment. MEH pilots are pissed, so is Spirit and ASA, Comair, Horizon, Mesa..... and so on and so on.......... If you expected anything different then your crazy. At least AAI has managed to stay out of bankruptcy and given you a paycheck every 2 weeks. Does the stuff they do p1ss me off? Heck ya, but I wouldn't want to be on the other side of the fence anywhere (with the exception of SWA, UPS, or Fedex). AAI is no worse then any of the other airlines, but AAI is much better then a lot of them..... BTW.. What kind of contract did you think you were gonna get with fuel prices over $100 a barrel?? Maybe, just maybe they will stay down for the next year and we will have some bargaining power again, but ever since fuel started going up and we turned down TA2 (which I voted down) we haven't exactly had any bargaining power....

 

[labatt]

Good post gt1900. Most guys on the line seem to have similar attitudes.