Airtran?

[mr_kilo]

Air Tran just had a pilot job fair in MCO this past weekend so that is great news.... Furthermore I was originally in the July class and was told by HR as well as other pilots that it was pushed backed a few months only because of the aircraft deliveries being pushed back a few months.

 

[stall022]

I think that was a Jet Blue job fair in MCO over the weekend. AirTran did have an FA open house in MCO over the weekend. As far as I know we are not actively hiring right now. I believe we do have enough hired in a pool to run a few classes on and off over the summer. I'm guessing we will be back to running a class every 3 weeks after september.

The last number I heard for hiring this year was 200 down from about 350 when I was hired in October. I have a little over 100 junior to me now so that means another 130ish?? for the rest of this year.

:beer:

 

[BeachBumz]

I think that was a Jet Blue job fair in MCO over the weekend. AirTran did have an FA open house in MCO over the weekend. As far as I know we are not actively hiring right now. I believe we do have enough hired in a pool to run a few classes on and off over the summer. I'm guessing we will be back to running a class every 3 weeks after september.

The last number I heard for hiring this year was 200 down from about 350 when I was hired in October. I have a little over 100 junior to me now so that means another 130ish?? for the rest of this year.

:beer:

Saw the numbers just last week. We have hired 169 pilots so far this year. They told us to expect hiring to resume toward the end of the summer.

As you know this can all change if the price of crude oil does not start to decline anytime soon.

 

[Fly4$]

How long can AirTran hang in there with 115 dollar oil? Does anyone know what percentage of fuel AT has hedged for this year and at what price? and for next year? I think everyone is losing money at this price, who can hang in there the longest?

 

[goodgig]

FedEx?

 

[PCL_128]

How long can AirTran hang in there with 115 dollar oil? Does anyone know what percentage of fuel AT has hedged for this year and at what price? and for next year? I think everyone is losing money at this price, who can hang in there the longest?

Over 40% of our fuel is hedged at $2.90 a gallon for the year. Next year not much is hedged, but they're adding hedge positions. We have the lowest costs in the industry, so we'll be able to last just as long as anybody else.

 

[scarlet]

And we don't have hourly flights to very small cities with just 25-40 people on a aircraft with 5-9k lbs of fuel being burned, hard to make profits on those routes.

 

[Fly4$]

So, does today's announncement of the 1Q results and zero growth plans mean that those postponed classes are definitely not going this year? Even in the best scenario I guess it will be a long time on reserve.

 

[spitfire1500]

Over 40% of our fuel is hedged at $2.90 a gallon for the year. Next year not much is hedged, but they're adding hedge positions. We have the lowest costs in the industry, so we'll be able to last just as long as anybody else.

So if the US$ strengthens and the price drops does that still hold AAI at $2.90.

 

[PCL_128]

So, does today's announncement of the 1Q results and zero growth plans mean that those postponed classes are definitely not going this year? Even in the best scenario I guess it will be a long time on reserve.

Yes, best case scenario would be a long time on reserve. Probably 12-18 months at least. If you live in ATL, not a bad deal, but probably unbearable if you plan to commute. I would still expect one or two classes by the end of the year, just for normal attrition. The question is whether you want to sit reserve for a long time.

 

[PCL_128]

So if the US$ strengthens and the price drops does that still hold AAI at $2.90.

No, for a couple of reasons.

One, because only a portion of our fuel expenses are hedged. As of today's conference call, our remaining fuel for the year has been 50% hedged at an equivalent of $3.00/gallon. So if oil drops and gas prices plunge below that level, then our overall cost drops, just not as much as the fuel price itself drops since we're still 50% hedged. In other words, the hedges dilute the drop or rise in fuel costs.

Also, remember that hedges aren't really a fixed price that we pay on fuel. A hedge just means that we're "hedging against" fuel costs by purchasing futures in other commodities, usually heating oil or something similar. In other words, we're diluting the increase or decrease in fuel costs. If oil prices increase to $150/bbl, then the adjusted fuel costs net including hedges would be higher than the quoted $3.00/gallon. Likewise, if fuel prices dropped, then net fuel costs would be less than the quoted $3.00/gallon. When they state that we are hedged at $3.00/gallon, that is based on current fuel prices factoring in the hedges. If fuel prices change, then that changes the net fuel cost also including the hedges.

 

[Eagle757shark]

I don't know why you think there is going to be a significant drop in the price of oil. We still have a full Hurricane season to go. If one major Hurricane hits the Gulf of Mexico, look out. Remember Katrina, Rita, and the storms of 2005. That is what started this fuel mess and we haven't been back since!

 

[PCL_128]

I don't know why you think there is going to be a significant drop in the price of oil. We still have a full Hurricane season to go. If one major Hurricane hits the Gulf of Mexico, look out. Remember Katrina, Rita, and the storms of 2005. That is what started this fuel mess and we haven't been back since!

Where did I say there was going to be a significant drop in the price of oil?

 

[IdRtherBsailing]

Could you guys have a staff meeting and decide which board (Majors or LLC's) you will be posting. It gets confusing.

 

[spitfire1500]

I don't know why you think there is going to be a significant drop in the price of oil. We still have a full Hurricane season to go. If one major Hurricane hits the Gulf of Mexico, look out. Remember Katrina, Rita, and the storms of 2005. That is what started this fuel mess and we haven't been back since!

When I am overseas the price hasn't changed much at all...the problem here is the US$ is worth less and less each day... if the $ starts to come back it will drive the cost of a barrel of oil down in the US