BREAKING NEWS about UAL

[contrail67]

Here's some more rumor from her site:

Updates on All Things United Airlines


From one of our readers this morning:
"Here is what I am hearing on the United front:

1. Culling the B737 fleet (94 airplanes) by Fall 2009. ​

2. Selling off 7 B747s by Fall 2008. ​

3. 25 percent staff cuts by Fall 2008. ​

4. Death to TED (quickly but painfully). ​

5. John Tague becomes the de facto President. (Hopefully after some quick-but-intense "Grooming by Glenn"). ​

6. Massive reorganization - "all the ​

wrong people are being promoted." ​

Are you hearing similar rumblings?"​

Yes. And more.

In fact, the Tague comment is especially interesting, as after the US Airways/United deal fell apart, we were told by several folks close to the deal that one of the big reasons was because John Tague wanted to become CEO of United, USTed, or whatever the merged airline would have been called.

So this dovetails with those comments.

We've also had a slew of other comments from readers this morning telling us that the entire United Boeing 737 fleet will be parked. So this seems to coincide with our reader's comments above as well.

So it looks like instead of parking 70 aircraft, the total number of aircraft parked at United Airlines may be over 100.

Will look for this on the United Airlnes site...not there though...who is this person putting this information out?

 

[shagadelic]

This comes from planebuzz.com. Same lady that does planebusinessbanter.com. Holly Heggeman (sp?). She's an industry blogger. Who she knows and where she gets her info I have no idea. But she seems to get the first scoop on a lot of stories.

 

[contrail67]

Nothing is being announced on the United Company web site....will just see how reliable this is. I am curious...did she also predict the US Air thing was going through too? Will be interesting to see if her source "from one of our readers" pans out.

 

[Networ-King]

On a lighter note, I'd love to see how this was determined in the interview (or maybe not).

What do you think Kit Darby was doing in the back room at the Air Inc. job fairs after his eye opening speech about the industry? HHmmmm come to think of it.... isn't that turd a United pilot? So this might have been performed on United property .

 

[laterallymobile]

The problem with Holly is that she usually has good information.

 

[Torpid]

"selling 7 B747 by Fall 2008"

I talked with a UAL pilot a while back who told me that the 74 was the only plane United had that could fly the nonstop to Beijing. Is this still the case and if so would they really get rid of them?

 

[airksk]

"selling 7 B747 by Fall 2008"

I talked with a UAL pilot a while back who told me that the 74 was the only plane United had that could fly the nonstop to Beijing. Is this still the case and if so would they really get rid of them?

Seems like the 777 should be able to do it, they make it over there from other parts of the U.S.

 

[greenbayfan]

If the master plan is to have John Tague become President/CEO, you United guys and gals better start thinking of some other career, because he did a great job at ATA.....

 

[On Your Six]

If the master plan is to have John Tague become President/CEO, you United guys and gals better start thinking of some other career, because he did a great job at ATA.....

Didn't he also run Air South (737 operator) into the ground? Yikes!

 

[145BOSS]

United's P&W powered 777s don't have nearly the range of other carriers GE powered aircraft. They can't fly ORD-PEK without a serious weight restriction.

 

[Hvy]

If the master plan is to have John Tague become President/CEO, you United guys and gals better start thinking of some other career, because he did a great job at ATA.....

Wow...the UAL haters are out in force. Sort of sad that there are so many of you.

 

[Andy]

What do you think Kit Darby was doing in the back room at the Air Inc. job fairs after his eye opening speech about the industry? HHmmmm come to think of it.... isn't that turd a United pilot? So this might have been performed on United property .

Kit Darby left United a while ago. From what I heard, he got fired for bringing unauthorized personnel on the flight deck.
Last I heard, he was working for MaxJet or EOS. Which means that he's unemployed right now.
Good thing there's a pilot shortage; he should have no problem finding a new job.

 

[contrail67]

Wow...the UAL haters are out in force. Sort of sad that there are so many of you.

One thing I have learned is that most of them are still pissed they got turned down. Hurt their feelings and now want revenge....yawn.

 

[MJ42]

Kit Darby left United a while ago. From what I heard, he got fired for bringing unauthorized personnel on the flight deck.
Last I heard, he was working for MaxJet or EOS. Which means that he's unemployed right now.
Good thing there's a pilot shortage; he should have no problem finding a new job.

Correct, although he says he retired (but conveniently leaves out involuntarily).

I have lots of friends at UAL, hope things get better for us all. Unfortunately many of us are about to follow in your footsteps.

 

[Andy]

Wow...the UAL haters are out in force. Sort of sad that there are so many of you.

I took his comment more about Tague than UAL. IIRC, he's made more than a couple of management missteps prior to joining UAL.

 

[Hvy]

I took his comment more about Tague than UAL. IIRC, he's made more than a couple of management missteps prior to joining UAL.

I was just lumping him in with the whole pile of bashers on this thread. Did you not read the first 4 pages?

Lots of people out there hate us (until they need the jumpseat)...maybe I'll give it some thought in HNL over a beer or two....eh....probably not.

 

[Andy]

I was just lumping him in with the whole pile of bashers on this thread. Did you not read the first 4 pages?

Lots of people out there hate us (until they need the jumpseat)...maybe I'll give it some thought in HNL over a beer or two....eh....probably not.

Enjoy HNL.

I've gotten used to the UAL bashers. We've been proclaimed to be dead more than a few times, yet have survived. I expect a very difficult road ahead, but UAL to live on. There will be more than a couple of airlines that will die in the next year.

 

[Yuppyguppy]

United expected to ground dozens of aircraft

Announcement expected as soon as Wednesday


By Julie Johnsson | Tribune reporter 6:38 PM CDT, June 3, 2008 Article tools

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United Airlines is expected to ground dozens of its least fuel-efficient aircraft, including Boeing 747 jumbo jets, as part of sweeping cuts intended to help the carrier conserve cash and surviving a daunting environment as a stand-alone company.

The Chicago-based airline intensified planning for the initiative as it cooled on a potential merger with US Airways in mid-May, say people familiar with its plans. United is expected to announce the cuts as early as Wednesday.

With the economy in a downdraft, capital constraints have made large-scale mergers largely unfeasible, forcing carriers like United to seek other ways to cut capacity in an effort to gain sufficient pricing power to cover rising fuel costs.

United plans to retire the workhorses of its domestic fleet: 94 decades-old Boeing 737 jets, single-aisle planes that seat up to 123 passengers and shuttle over medium-range distances, say people close to the company.




United had already planned to ground 30 Boeing 737-500s in its fleet, which seat just 108 passengers but burn as much fuel as the larger narrow-body jets that it uses for flights within North America.

But the nation's second-largest carrier now will phase out the 64 Boeing 737-300s that it operates, whose average age is approaching 20 years, sources said.

"Aging goes hand-in-hand with fuel inefficiency," said aviation consultant Robert Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Co. "At these fuel prices, more and more of the domestic network is uneconomic."

United is also preparing to park some of its largest jets, Boeing 747s that haul about 350 passengers and are primarily used for flights to Asia and Australia, sources said

 

[Plunder Hound]

Unless oil goes below $100 this is the plan. We'll see what happens.

 

[ranger17]

I may be confused on his status, but anyone who knows J.Q. (ex-PDT) better than I do, can help clarify what happened to him.

Yeah just had dinner with him last week. He finishes up sim this week. No mention yet of a furlough, though he seems to think it is a good possiblility.

 

[vixin]

Reuters
UAL to announce fleet, job cuts: report
Tuesday June 3, 11:14 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - UAL Corp (NasdaqGS:UAUA - News), parent of United Airlines, plans to reduce its mainline fleet by another 70 aircraft by the end of 2009 and announce further job cuts, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Tuesday.
The airline is expected to announce the planned cuts to its fleet of 460 aircraft on Wednesday, the paper reported, citing unnamed sources.
The company will also announce additional cuts of salaried and management workers, the paper said. Reductions of unionized positions was expected to come later, it said. UAL could not be reached immediately for comment.


Another link that has the story. Sorry UAL guys and gals!!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,4018539.story

 

[zasca]

That's good, because it sounded like dire news in April

 

[Flywrite]

Not to say it wont happen, but the Tribune article sounds like it was written by someone who read the same thing we all read on planebiz.

 

[BigMotorToter]

Maybe the WSJ is more legit:


From the WSJ

United Airlines parent UAL Corp. on Wednesday is expected to announce it will cut its 460-aircraft mainline fleet by another 70 jetliners by the end of next year. The move will help the company cope with surging fuel expenses but also lead to a large but indeterminate number of furloughs of its unionized workforce and a major reduction in routes or daily flight frequencies operated, said people familiar with the matter.

A week after the nation's No. 2 airline by traffic rejected a plan to merge with US Airways Group Inc., UAL promised to take further steps as a standalone carrier to cope with industry conditions that now amount to a crisis. UAL already has said it would reduce its capacity -- seats on offer -- by a double-digit percentage by the fourth quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2007.

But with fuel so costly, many routes no longer are profitable even as fares continued to be pushed higher by the industry. And older aircraft, which are less fuel-efficient, are an increasing liability. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, the largest U.S. carrier, recently announced a sizeable capacity reduction.

Some routes already have come out of United's published schedules. For instance, United later this year is dropping its flights from Chicago to Anchorage and from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. Many smaller, domestic routes are being cut back in terms of numbers of daily flight frequencies or by a reduction of United mainline flights and a substitution of flights by the airline's regional affiliates.

UAL plans to announce on Wednesday the removal of 64 more Boeing Co. 737s from its fleet by the end of next year, on top of 30 737s it already announced it would retire, said people familiar with the matter. The Chicago Tribune first reported the fleet reduction on its Web site Tuesday. UAL has 460 aircraft in its mainline fleet; its commuter affiliates operate another couple hundred smaller feeder aircraft.

The 64 Boeing 737-300s, which carry 123 passengers, have an average age of 19 years, according to the company's annual report. A majority are leased rather than owned. UAL already has said it plans to retire 30 737-500s, which seat 108 passengers. All those planes are owned instead of leased. The average age of those aircraft is 16 years.

In addition, Chicago-based UAL plans to pare six of its jumbo 747s from the fleet, said people familiar with the situation. United has 30 of that type, the majority owned rather than leased. The flagship 747s, four-engine, long-haul planes, serve some of the carrier's signature routes, primarily in Asia and Australia.

The fleet reductions will be explained to UAL's 55,000 employees on Wednesday. People familiar with the matter said the company will announce additional reductions of salaried and management workers, on top of the 500 or so jobs it recently said it would cut. News about reductions of unionized positions -- pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, reservationists, ramp workers and airport agents -- was expected to come later, said these people.

United is expected to rid itself of its "Ted" sub-branded service that serves domestic leisure destinations with 56 all-coach A320 aircraft. The company dreamed up Ted in the early days of its bankruptcy case, which ran from late 2002 to early 2006, as a way of reducing costs on its most competitive domestic routes by cramming more seats on the planes by doing away with first-class cabins.

Instead, the airline will put first-class cabins back on some of those planes, bowing to pressure from its premium passengers who didn't like flying coach to Sunbelt destinations, said a person with knowledge of the matter.

In spite of the fleet reductions, UAL continues to have owned aircraft that are unencumbered by loans and could be used as collateral for future fundraising. The company has said it could raise $3 billion with assets including planes, foreign routes, takeoff and landing slots and other collateral.

Other big U.S. airlines are expected to announce further capacity reductions in the coming days and weeks, as low-fare carriers continue to temper their growth plans and defer planned deliveries of new planes. Soaring fuel prices are expected to plunge all U.S. carriers by Southwest Airlines Co. deeply into the red this year and some analysts expect multiple bankruptcies later this year or in 2009 as the industry tries to cope with runaway oil prices.

 

[say again]

Does anybody have anything positive about the industry?? Anything!! A little spark of hope will do some people good. Good luck All at UAL, and everywhere else for that matter.

 

[ReverseSensing]

Does anybody have anything positive about the industry?? Anything!! A little spark of hope will do some people good.

Unless you're a RJ driver, I'm guessing you didn't have this in mind:

Many smaller, domestic routes are being cut back in terms of numbers of daily flight frequencies or by a reduction of United mainline flights and a substitution of flights by the airline's regional affiliates.

 

[Colonel Savage]

Does anybody have anything positive about the industry?? Anything!! A little spark of hope will do some people good...

Yes, according to IATA, average jet fuel prices down 11.3% the past two weeks...Wonder how many BILLIONS that's worth...

 

[aa73]

Good luck UAL folks... we are probably not far behind.

Andy, thanks for your usual factual posts.

73

 

[ACL65PILOT]

It is rumored that DAL will hire this fall......

 

[aa73]

It is rumored that DAL will hire this fall......

Just might be taking you up on that, bro... rumor has it AA may be furloughing as well.

73
600 from da bottom