Eagle757shark
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AirTran to sell two more planes; tougher union talks ahead?
posted by Jason Garcia on Mar 3, 2008 9:52:20 AM
Orlando-based AirTran Airways will sell two jets in April, AirTran President and Chief Executive Bob Fornaro said this morning, as the airline continues to scale back its growth plans amid record fuel costs.
Speaking at the Raymond James Annual Institutional Investor Conference, Fornaro added that the plane sales won't be the last growth cuts AirTran makes. "We're going to adjust our fleet plans further," he said.
What's more, Fornaro said off-the-charts oil prices -- which he said have climbed past $100 a barrel -- could also impact AirTran's protracted negotiations with its pilots union. The two sides have been negotiating a new deal for nearly two years.
The pilots union rejected AirTran's latest offer last fall. But Fornaro said AirTran may not make a better offer -- or even a similar one -- given today's oil prices.
"I would say right now I'm not sure we would put that agreement back on the table. That was a $65-a-barrel agreement and that's not where we are," he said. "We're taking a fresh eye as to what we're going to put on the table."
posted by Jason Garcia on Mar 3, 2008 9:52:20 AM
Orlando-based AirTran Airways will sell two jets in April, AirTran President and Chief Executive Bob Fornaro said this morning, as the airline continues to scale back its growth plans amid record fuel costs.
Speaking at the Raymond James Annual Institutional Investor Conference, Fornaro added that the plane sales won't be the last growth cuts AirTran makes. "We're going to adjust our fleet plans further," he said.
What's more, Fornaro said off-the-charts oil prices -- which he said have climbed past $100 a barrel -- could also impact AirTran's protracted negotiations with its pilots union. The two sides have been negotiating a new deal for nearly two years.
The pilots union rejected AirTran's latest offer last fall. But Fornaro said AirTran may not make a better offer -- or even a similar one -- given today's oil prices.
"I would say right now I'm not sure we would put that agreement back on the table. That was a $65-a-barrel agreement and that's not where we are," he said. "We're taking a fresh eye as to what we're going to put on the table."