Stave off losses? You mean the ones that can't be covered by the extra $2.5 billion in ancillary revenue? We had a profit for this quarter, that included profit sharing for employees. The "marked to Market" losses for fuel hedges are not real losses at all, rather an update on what you "could" loses if oil prices continue to fall (they aren't). Those hedges can go out for up to 18 months, not all due this quarter. There was a $155 million loss on the hedged, but that was offset by gains due to lower fuel (besides hedged fuel) and strong demand. The stock went up, and we receive profit sharing. Plus, fuel prices for the next two quarters aren't even close to the high prices DL paid in May. Obviously Wall Street liked it, but you know different.
Instead, you need to concentrate on two things. First, be nice to the trannies. They are your brothers now, with some senior to you probably. Next, if you want any of the future newhires to be quality, drop the pft. It may help your recruitment, even though your bottom guys are saying 20 years to upgrade. 20 years of intra Texas, ouch. Fix those two things, and then you can obsess about DL RJs that are actually decreasing in huge numbers overall.
Bye Bye----General Lee