DL CFO says he may explore sale of Comair

[General Lee]

Delta CFO says may explore sale of Comair unit
Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:40 PM ET
NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - The chief financial officer of Delta Air Lines (DALRQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday the company may explore the sale of regional unit Comair as the bankrupt airline seeks to raise money and cut costs.
Delta would explore the possibility of a sale of Comair if the unit could be restructured, said Delta CFO Edward Bastian at a hearing in New York's bankruptcy court.


Heck, the Comair guys probably want to be sold, quickly.



Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[uba757]

Its incredible how much you enjoy someone else's misfortune. UBA757

 

[ohplease!]

Its incredible how much you enjoy someone else's misfortune. UBA757

you are right about that. But, I for one don't know that it would be Comair's misfortune to be sold. It seems to have been a pretty good thing for us.

 

[General Lee]

Its incredible how much you enjoy someone else's misfortune. UBA757

Say what? I posted the article as soon as I saw it on Yahoo, and I posted another one on the Major's board about loan restructuring. And, I would THINK that the Comair guys would RATHER Delta sell them so they don't have to be connected always to Delta. That may be GOOD for them. Got it? I am not ANTI-regional pilot---believe it or not. I just think some of you need to rethink your large RJ stance. But hey, that is just my opinion.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[General Lee]

you are right about that. But, I for one don't know that it would be Comair's misfortune to be sold. It seems to have been a pretty good thing for us.

How is it been "pretty good" for you guys? You will probably have to take a pay cut on the CR7 side, and you will be whipsawed for new aircraft. And, if you do merge with SkyWest, you COULD be stapled. Sounds great.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[FlyFlyFly]

I would see it as nothing but bad for the guys at ComAir. Rather than be a shoe-in for Delta's flying, they have to compete on price with all the other regionals for Delta's flying. That will put pressure on revenue and ultimately result in cost-cutting or giving up a share of the business.

Bad either way.

 

[ohplease!]

How is it been "pretty good" for you guys? You will probably have to take a pay cut on the CR7 side, and you will be whipsawed for new aircraft. And, if you do merge with SkyWest, you COULD be stapled. Sounds great.


Bye Bye--General Lee

atleast when you guy's put Delta out of business, we won't go down the tubes with you. Jerry will eventually find somewhere else to use us and our planes.

And yes, we will PROBABALY take a cut on the 70, maybe not. My crystal ball is a little cloudy. We also will get a slight bump up on the 50 and some form of profit sharing along with some QOL improvements.

If we merge with SkyW they COULD be stapled to us. Doubtful either way. Regionals have been whipsawed for quite a while now. No change there.

I have noticed several areas of improvement in the last 6 months or so. Don't know if its SkyW's influence or not (I think it probably is). There is still room for improvement.

 

[ohplease!]

atleast when you guy's put Delta out of business, we won't go down the tubes with you. Jerry will eventually find somewhere else to use us and our planes.

And yes, we will PROBABALY take a cut on the 70, maybe not. My crystal ball is a little cloudy. We also will get a slight bump up on the 50 and some form of profit sharing along with some QOL improvements.

If we merge with SkyW they COULD be stapled to us. Doubtful either way. Regionals have been whipsawed for quite a while now. No change there.

I have noticed several areas of improvement in the last 6 months or so. Don't know if its SkyW's influence or not (I think it probably is). There is still room for improvement.

oh yeah, almost forgot.....you guy's don't have the nads or are too smart to strike so, Delta going out of business is a non-issue. Unless ALPA goads you guy's into something stupid. And I don't think that will happen, there aren't very many people flying for Delta that are as dumb as you.

 

[General Lee]

oh yeah, almost forgot.....you guy's don't have the nads or are too smart to strike so, Delta going out of business is a non-issue. Unless ALPA goads you guy's into something stupid. And I don't think that will happen, there aren't very many people flying for Delta that are as dumb as you.

Ouch. I am hurt. Hey, atleast I have an opinion and try to back it up. Most guys on this board don't even try to look into the issues.

Anyway, we will strike if they take our contract and throw it out, and if they don't and try to give us a TA, I don't think we will pass it unless we get a hold on scope and other issues. The company will NOT get exit financing without a pilot deal. We know that. Again, we only strike if they toss the contract. We will pass a TA that suits us, and most of us know what is important now that we know the pensions will be gone. That was the deciding factor on NW's scope deal. We don't have that in front of us. Big difference.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[General Lee]

Ouch. I am hurt. Hey, atleast I have an opinion and try to back it up. Most guys on this board don't even try to look into the issues.

Anyway, we will strike if they take our contract and throw it out, and if they don't and try to give us a TA, I don't think we will pass it unless we get a hold on scope and other issues. The company will NOT get exit financing without a pilot deal. We know that. Again, we only strike if they toss the contract. We will pass a TA that suits us, and most of us know what is important now that we know the pensions will be gone. That was the deciding factor on NW's scope deal. We don't have that in front of us. Big difference.


Bye Bye--General Lee

Oh yeah, like you, I almost forgot. You guys should be careful because you will get whipsawed with new aircraft and absolutely could get hammered in any merger with SkyWest. That is something you need to look into. Also, if we do liquidate, it won't be pretty for your side of SkyWest INC---they can easily furlough all of you to keep the SkyWest pilots happy. Although, a chunk of them in SLC could be furloughed too because they probably don't have a contract that could keep them from furloughing JUST SLC pilots.(regardless of seniority) Could they do that? Maybe. What would their union say? They have no union really. Scary.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[General Lee]

One more thing....

oh yeah, almost forgot.....you guy's don't have the nads or are too smart to strike so, Delta going out of business is a non-issue. Unless ALPA goads you guy's into something stupid. And I don't think that will happen, there aren't very many people flying for Delta that are as dumb as you.

Here's someone who thinks we may strike, or have the nads:



Darryl Jenkins, an independent aviation industry consultant, said Wednesday he thinks the pilots are serious in their talk of a strike.
"These are very, very tough negotiations to be involved in. I've never seen pilots who are as angry as they are right now. I take their threats very seriously. This is not the usual rhetoric. When you go into negotiations, you beat the drums and have this rhetoric. But this is different," he said.
What's changed is the level of concessions being asked of the pilots and a great dissatisfaction among pilots with management's leadership, he said.
Jenkins said he is still hopeful that the pilots and management can step back from the brink and reach a negotiated settlement without a strike or voiding the contract.
But he remains pessimistic about Delta's ability to return to profitability and remain an independent airline.
"I think ultimately, we will lose the Delta name and they will be merged out of existence. I haven't seen anything in the restructuring plan to make me think otherwise," Jenkins said.
"This airline is very poorly run. This mostly I blame on management. This is not Delta as it used to be. This is a very, very poorly managed Delta."


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[IronCityBlue]

Oh yeah, like you, I almost forgot. You guys should be careful because you will get whipsawed with new aircraft and absolutely could get hammered in any merger with SkyWest. That is something you need to look into. Also, if we do liquidate, it won't be pretty for your side of SkyWest INC---they can easily furlough all of you to keep the SkyWest pilots happy. Although, a chunk of them in SLC could be furloughed too because they probably don't have a contract that could keep them from furloughing JUST SLC pilots.(regardless of seniority) Could they do that? Maybe. What would their union say? They have no union really. Scary.


Bye Bye--General Lee

Did you just quote yourself?

 

[johnsonrod]

Here's someone who thinks we may strike, or have the nads:



Darryl Jenkins, an independent aviation industry consultant, said Wednesday he thinks the pilots are serious in their talk of a strike.
"These are very, very tough negotiations to be involved in. I've never seen pilots who are as angry as they are right now. I take their threats very seriously. This is not the usual rhetoric. When you go into negotiations, you beat the drums and have this rhetoric. But this is different," he said.
What's changed is the level of concessions being asked of the pilots and a great dissatisfaction among pilots with management's leadership, he said.
Jenkins said he is still hopeful that the pilots and management can step back from the brink and reach a negotiated settlement without a strike or voiding the contract.
But he remains pessimistic about Delta's ability to return to profitability and remain an independent airline.
"I think ultimately, we will lose the Delta name and they will be merged out of existence. I haven't seen anything in the restructuring plan to make me think otherwise," Jenkins said.
"This airline is very poorly run. This mostly I blame on management. This is not Delta as it used to be. This is a very, very poorly managed Delta."


Bye Bye--General Lee

I tend to agree in this case. The fact that Delta management won't even go to the table to negotiate is ridiculous. The difference between Delta management's $300+ million concession and the Delta pilots' $120 million concession is not much - only $180 million or so. This difference is not enough to make or break the airline - and that's the point. If the pilots cave and give the $300+ million concession, management will claim a huge victory, but the difference is marginal. Remember that the pilots expect to give up their pensions (UAL axed it), but management would refuse to give them "credit" for that $400 million or so in reduced annual pension liability. WTF???? No credit for that concession?

Do you see how Delta management is not negotiating in "good faith" and instead trying to exploit the pilot group for all that they can get? Is it just me on these boards? I'll be the first to applaud the Delta pilots on their efforts to actually stand up against exploitation when it is simply not necessary... I just read that the airline industry is actually expected to do very well over the next few years with considerable profits expected (due to lower capacity, better pricing, lower fuel costs than over the last year and reduced pension liabilities). You would never know that from listening to Delta management and their "creative" accounting and overly dramatic spin... At least they'll get some nice bonuses like Leo when all of the costs and cut to the bone...

 

[KingAirKiddo]

I would see it as nothing but bad for the guys at ComAir. Rather than be a shoe-in for Delta's flying, they have to compete on price with all the other regionals for Delta's flying. That will put pressure on revenue and ultimately result in cost-cutting or giving up a share of the business.

Bad either way.

That's pretty much the position that we're in now. Being owned by Delta does not make us a shoe-in for Delta Connection flying. Quite the opposite actually. We've been shrinking at the same time that new carriers are being introduced into the portfolio. All in all, a sale might be good for us. I'm not personally holding my breath, though.

KAK

 

[General Lee]

Did you just quote yourself?

Yes, I was making fun of OHPlease! He had just quoted himself too. So I did it also. It made me laugh.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[comrcap]

Sale

Actually, we ALL think a sale of Comair would be beneficial. We haven't gained any new flying from DAL anyhow. Seeing we raised the bar 5 years ago so everyone could limbo under it. Now we're at a par with most everyone else AND we do a better job of it than anyone of them. We are one of the last rats to jump a ship that's taking on water!

 

[atlcrashpad]

Another brilliant move by DAL CFO. Sell off Comair for less than half of what you paid for it. Just like ASA. I hope the stockholders realize that some schmuck is buying high and selling low. Where did he get his MBA?

 

[scopeCMRandASA]

Another brilliant move by DAL CFO. Sell off Comair for less than half of what you paid for it. Just like ASA. I hope the stockholders realize that some schmuck is buying high and selling low. Where did he get his MBA?

Comair was definitely overbought. Way too high of price. As I have said, cushy agreements in favor of the feeders CAN"T last.

Glad to be gone

 

[RJDC]

Yippee!!! Free at last! Here comes the bigger RJs and hopefully narrowbodies!

 

[AviatorTx]

Oh yeah, like you, I almost forgot. You guys should be careful because you will get whipsawed with new aircraft and absolutely could get hammered in any merger with SkyWest. That is something you need to look into. Also, if we do liquidate, it won't be pretty for your side

Can you say a HIGH RISK buy.

No offense to my Comair brothers (this is directed at management). This is EXACTLY why someone would have to be a fool to buy Comair. They only have one customer, and that customer is bankrupt, threatening all of their vendors if the said vendors don't reduce costs.

From an investor standpoint: Lesson learned from Expressjet, as soon as they do sell you and can start to dump you, they will. This is just as risky as buying General Motors stock right now IMHO.

 

[General Lee]

Can you say a HIGH RISK buy.

No offense to my Comair brothers (this is directed at management). This is EXACTLY why someone would have to be a fool to buy Comair. They only have one customer, and that customer is bankrupt, threatening all of their vendors if the said vendors don't reduce costs.

From an investor standpoint: Lesson learned from Expressjet, as soon as they do sell you and can start to dump you, they will. This is just as risky as buying General Motors stock right now IMHO.

Normally that would mean CHEAP costs and steady revenue or profit potential. Your pilots already have given lower costs, and the stews could be next, if they don't strike. As far as larger airplanes, don't count on it for the DL side, but maybe for someone else. I won't vote for any TA that allows that.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[wmuflyguy]

ASA was a high risk buy also. IF DL goes TU that company will be worthless.

CMR will not be sold until the DL pilots contract gets settled and the CMR FA's settle their contract.

After things stabilize, I would expect CMR to be sold. It may not be a bad thing. Hopefully whatever contract they sign with DL for feed, will allow some stability. Instead of DL changing the schedule at moments notice. Seems we can be overstaffed one month then severly understaffed the next. Crew "lack of" planning seems to be havinga fun time with the schedules at the moment.

 

[MAX CON]

Hey G.L who do think has the capital to buy Comair ? Skywest and ASA have to much going on with there merger. Mesa or RAH ? the pay to play with DL!

 

[doh]

Yippee!!! Free at last! Here comes the bigger RJs and hopefully narrowbodies!

Not so sure who you really are, but you are nuts! The best thing that could happen is if ALPA would grow a pair and stop farming out any flying. Not holding my breath for it but...

 

[doh]

Oh, and I'd like to see the General and the rest vote no for any thing short of all flying must be done by Delta pilots. Not holding my breath for that one either.

 

[AviatorTx]

Your pilots already have given lower costs, and the stews could be next, if they don't strike.

General, I work for Expressjet and am speaking about my experience with IPO's.

Now that the investors are seeing what can happen to a spun-off airline, as with our case with CAL, I think the risk factor has just gone up a bit.

The second CAL was allowed to shrink our stake in the operation, the jumped on it. Unlike Delta, when CAL spun off XJT, CAL was fairing better than any other legacy, and was still GIVING us their flying.

I see a Comair spinoff s the opposite, DAL is crashing hard, AND threatening to shift flying away from Comair. I can ONLY see someone buying this carrier for pennies on the dollar. It seems just like too much of a high risk investment since Comair, like XJT, only has one customer. IMHO, any potential investor will see, that as soon as big daddy DAL has their money, they will cock the gun and point at the newly spun off Comair's head (again). "Cut your costs further (take a bigger loss) or we shift all of your flying away to carrier ___."

I'll give you one million for the entire operation, right now. No more though.

 

[General Lee]

Hey G.L who do think has the capital to buy Comair ? Skywest and ASA have to much going on with there merger. Mesa or RAH ? the pay to play with DL!

Good question. I would think whoever could buy it would get a good deal from DL (in the same range as ASA), and a multi-year guaranteed deal. I bet RAH or maybe Mesa as you say. A lot of things have to be settled first, like our DL mainline scope issues.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[General Lee]

General, I work for Expressjet and am speaking about my experience with IPO's.

Now that the investors are seeing what can happen to a spun-off airline, as with our case with CAL, I think the risk factor has just gone up a bit.

The second CAL was allowed to shrink our stake in the operation, the jumped on it. Unlike Delta, when CAL spun off XJT, CAL was fairing better than any other legacy, and was still GIVING us their flying.

I see a Comair spinoff s the opposite, DAL is crashing hard, AND threatening to shift flying away from Comair. I can ONLY see someone buying this carrier for pennies on the dollar. It seems just like too much of a high risk investment since Comair, like XJT, only has one customer. IMHO, any potential investor will see, that as soon as big daddy DAL has their money, they will cock the gun and point at the newly spun off Comair's head (again). "Cut your costs further (take a bigger loss) or we shift all of your flying away to carrier ___."

I'll give you one million for the entire operation, right now. No more though.

You and I both DON'T know what the Delta CFO tells the regional CFOs in private. We cornered our CFO on the stand and he admitted that we made $400 million MORE THAN PLANNED at the end of last year, and made a $25 million operating profit for Jan and Feb. We have hedged fuel lately, and our overall costs have gone down, primarily because most of our employees are non-union and got a pay cut. We pilots have brought costs down 47%, and will probably get a TA eventually that will still keep costs down. You and I really don't know the whole picture, but I bet our management is telling other managements things will be just fine eventually. (unless we liquidate due to a pilot strike)


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[AviatorTx]

General,

You are right... I don't know. All I have to go on is what I have seen happen here at XJT. I am not by any means the Great "see-all" of this industry, but I AM batting about 950 with my predictions of what has happened here at XJT.

In this era of corporate greed, and gross negligence, I think the writing is on the wall. IMHO.

 

[Halo_RJdriver]

get out the scope

Good question. I would think whoever could buy it would get a good deal from DL (in the same range as ASA), and a multi-year guaranteed deal. I bet RAH or maybe Mesa as you say. A lot of things have to be settled first, like our DL mainline scope issues.


Bye Bye--General Lee

Why not choke up on your scope and forbid any regional like rah and meza and the rest of us going over 70 seats. If I were a DAL or any other mainline pilot I would detest seeing mesa or chiniquwa flying anything bigger than a 70 seat plane.
How can you with your strong stance on scope even dare to mention the likes of mesa?

Shaniguqwa isn't any better flying those ugly brasilia 180 out of SLC and their pilots calling those things guppy killers.

Scope those wankers back to where they belong. On the street behind DAL furloughees.