AirTran or JetBlue

[dadawgs]

I was at airtran in the mid 90`s for 3+ years and things were not great then. just my opinion

I think things might have changed just a tad bit since you were there 10 years ago. But, that is just my opnion.

 

[Ty Webb]

Keep in mind, I was at airtran in the mid 90`s for 3+ years and things were not great then. just my opinion

You aren't kidding . . . I flew on AirTran as a passenger in 1999 and swore I would never fly on them again- that's how bad it was.

You wouldn't recognize the place today. Still have a long way to go, but it's nothing like it was even five years ago.

Hiring another 105 pilots by the end of 2006. Just took delivery of the 34th 737-700 . . . New West Coast city announcement before the end of the year, five more cities next year, and I'm betting on a new base in BWI or elsewhere, and a new contract by the end of 2007.


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[XBOEINGDRVR]

no Im not kidding. I still have numerous friends over there, and they all say other than growth- nothing has changed...

 

[Citrusflyer]

I thought wives (or ex's) were like potato chips--you can't have just one. Dizel, nice to see "our girl" is doing well. I'll have to look for the other pics.

hahaha...good one. I wish you could have kept the hummer...

 

[GVFlyer]

I'd go with the airline that has the best financial outlook. In my view that would be AirTran. JetBlue is kind of soft right now. I did well shorting their stock as it fell from $29 to $10 bucks.

JetBlue stock has lost nearly 35% of value this year, has a trailing P/E of -(minus)30.4% and a Forward P/E of -(minus)156.9%!

Here's some recent representative random samplings of articles on JetBlue's economic outlook.

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 2006--Fitch Ratings has downgraded the debt ratings of JetBlue Airways Corp. as follows:

• Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'B' from 'B+'.
• Senior unsecured convertible notes to 'CCC/RR6' from 'B-/RR6'

This action affects approximately $425 million of outstanding debt. The Rating Outlook for JetBlue is 'Stable'.
Fitch's downgrade reflects JetBlue's highly leveraged capital structure and its relatively weak margin performance in a generally improving U.S. airline industry operating environment. Although planned growth rates for 2006 and beyond have been scaled back in response to unit revenue and fuel cost pressures in transcontinental and Northeast-to-Florida markets served by the Airbus A320, JetBlue is likely to face a continuation of challenging operating conditions that will put pressure on margins and operating cash flow over the next several quarters. Heavy capital spending commitments and financing requirements linked to scheduled deliveries of A320 and Embraer 190 (E190) aircraft will keep leverage high and free cash flow substantially negative for an extended period, limiting opportunities for balance sheet strengthening.




JetBlue shares fall on lower outlook

Reuters
Friday, September 22, 2006; 3:37 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares in JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU.O) fell on Friday after the discount carrier lowered its earnings forecast amid weaker demand.
JetBlue was the latest U.S. airline to highlight softening demand because of security concerns and a seasonal drop-off in traffic.
The six-year-old airline has hit some bumps after a period of rapid growth and it embarked on a turnaround effort earlier this year.
"The company, in our view, faces significant revenue challenges given its rapid growth plans despite a slowing economy," Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Linenberg said.
JetBlue shares on Nasdaq were down 5 cents at $9.81, after trading as high as $10.10. It was underperforming the Amex airline index (.XAL), which was up slightly.






Good luck with your decision, unless you really have something against flying boxes, I'd consider FedEx.



GV

 

[LearLove]

I'm betting on a new base in BWI or elsewhere, and a new contract by the end of 2007.


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Jill was talkig about a BWI base back whe I interviewed in March01.

 

[USARET]

Not much room left in ATL so something is going to have to give soon. Joe came and spoke us in recurrent last month and said BWI would be the next hard base, it was just a question of when. Like many other things that have changed at AirTran Jill has been gone for a few years.

 

[Ty Webb]

no Im not kidding. I still have numerous friends over there, and they all say other than growth- nothing has changed...

That is not true . . . I could give you a whole list of things that have changed for the better in the five years since I have been here, let alone the ten years since you were here.

A short list would include an entire fleet change, doubling the number of pilots, doubling the number of airplanes, increasing the number of cities served by 50%, adding service to 5 Western cities, (with another before the end of the year) greatly improving the ramp operation, trip rig improvement, duty rig improvement, pay, retirement improvement . . . . need I continue?

.

 

[Citrus531]

I agree with Ty and improvements are still in the works....I've noticed $$$$$ is finally being spent on numerous things just around ATL.... Ramp, Cust serv, Ops, on the concourses...the company is very conservative in many aspects but is realizing it's time that if we're going to be a big carrier we need to look like one...with the Ops we have in the Concourse C & D ramp towers, they're putting forth requests for improvements totaling the $600,000 range...which for us, would change the towers completely with the old technology we currently have....may not be big in Ops for a larger carrier but it'll be all we need to run Atlanta.

I've been here 3 years...started off as an agent and I don't even recognize some of the new things being done now...no more Ryan A320's or Air Wis CRJ's....DC-9's are rotting in Florida somewhere...and just in ATL, the people they've brought in within the last year in Cust service, the ramp and the station director all have much experience with bigger operations(US Airways and Northwest especially)....from what I've seen they're great additions and are only helping our growth even more.

 

[mnboyev]

Cool .... I cant wait to go back to work... Love it Love it Love it....

Moes opened.. that's good !!...