Emirates in talks with AA

[8sugarsugar]

1. During bankruptcy, you can talk and plan all you want, just can't sign anything in ink. I don't believe AA has a gag order that would prevent them from looking at plan B.

2. A marriage between Emirates and a US Legacy is near. Emirates probably doesn't even want a share of AA. But they will ink a deal similar to Qantas. "Global Alliance Busting"

3. This airline business is very dynamic. Change is always coming. The next big thing is Alliance busting, new partnerships formed, 5th freedoms routes etc etc.

Like someone said before, "watch this space" things are about to get real interesting.

 

[8sugarsugar]

I think cjbrown is right, but as I have said before the first US major to take EK to the dance floor will have a 'First Mover' advantage.

Qantas did it - and their improved profitability - just announced has been widely acclaimed by the industry as the direct result of the EK tie-up.

Air Canada finally threw in the towel and went with Etihad, BA just announced a deal with Qatar.

AA & UAL would work well because of IAD, IAH, DFW but DAL in NY & LAX also has pull.

There is no way the US Majors alliance partners can cover Africa, CIS, and Indian sub-continent like EK...just wait, it's going to happen...and I hope it's AA or UAL.

fv

What all he said ^^^ If you can't beat them, join them. You can bet the Legacies are looking at the Qantas deal very closely and the gears are turning.

Innovate or die has been the battle cry.

 

[General Lee]

It's growing.

Really Ike? Where do you come up with your opinions?? I guess they are still growing, a bit...... Maybe you should read this:

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Why India’s Economy Is Stumbling
By ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN
Published: August 30, 2013

WASHINGTON — FOR the past three decades, the Indian economy has grown impressively, at an average annual rate of 6.4 percent. From 2002 to 2011, when the average rate was 7.7 percent, India seemed to be closing in on China — unstoppable, and engaged in a second “tryst with destiny,” to borrow Jawaharlal Nehru’s phrase. The economic potential of its vast population, expected to be the world’s largest by the middle of the next decade, appeared to be unleashed as India jettisoned the stifling central planning and economic controls bequeathed it by Mr. Nehru and the nation’s other socialist founders.


Karen Barbour

Rupee Drops, and Outlook Grows Darker for India (August 31, 2013)
For Op-Ed, follow @nytopinion and to hear from the editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, follow @andyrNYT.
But India’s self-confidence has been shaken. Growth has slowed to 4.4 percent a year; the rupee is in free fall, resulting in higher prices for imported goods; and the specter of a potential crisis, brought on by rising inflation and crippling budget deficits, looms.

To some extent, India has been just another victim of the ebb and flow of global finance, which it embraced too enthusiastically. The threat (or promise) of tighter monetary policies at the Federal Reserve and a resurgent American economy threaten to suck capital, and economic dynamism, out of many emerging-market economies.

But India’s problems have deep and stubborn origins of the country’s own making.

The current government, which took office in 2004, has made two fundamental errors. First, it assumed that growth was on autopilot and failed to address serious structural problems. Second, flush with revenues, it began major redistribution programs, neglecting their consequences: higher fiscal and trade deficits.

Structural problems were inherent in India’s unusual model of economic development, which relied on a limited pool of skilled labor rather than an abundant supply of cheap, unskilled, semiliterate labor. This meant that India specialized in call centers, writing software for European companies and providing back-office services for American health insurers and law firms and the like, rather than in a manufacturing model. Other economies that have developed successfully — Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and China — relied in their early years on manufacturing, which provided more jobs for the poor.

Two decades of double-digit growth in pay for skilled labor have caused wages to rise and have chipped away at India’s competitive advantage. Countries like the Philippines have emerged as attractive alternatives for outsourcing. India’s higher-education system is not generating enough talent to meet the demand for higher skills. Worst of all, India is failing to make full use of the estimated one million low-skilled workers who enter the job market every month.

Manufacturing requires transparent rules and reliable infrastructure. India is deficient in both. High-profile scandals over the allocation of mobile broadband spectrum, coal and land have undermined confidence in the government. If land cannot be easily acquired and coal supplies easily guaranteed, the private sector will shy away from investing in the power grid. Irregular electricity holds back investments in factories.

India’s panoply of regulations, including inflexible labor laws, discourages companies from expanding. As they grow, large Indian businesses prefer to substitute machines for unskilled labor. During China’s three-decade boom (1978-2010), manufacturing accounted for about 34 percent of China’s economy. In India, this number peaked at 17 percent in 1995 and is now around 14 percent.

In fairness, poverty has sharply declined over the last three decades, to about 20 percent from around 50 percent. But since the greatest beneficiaries were the highly skilled and talented, the Indian public has demanded that growth be more inclusive. Democratic and competitive politics have compelled politicians to address this challenge, and revenues from buoyant growth provided the means to do so.

Thus, India provided guarantees of rural employment and kept up subsidies to the poor for food, power, fuel and fertilizer. The subsidies consume as much as 2.7 percent of gross domestic product, but corruption and inefficient administration have meant that the most needy often don’t reap the benefits.

Meanwhile, rural subsidies have pushed up wages, contributing to double-digit inflation. India’s fiscal deficit amounts to about 9 percent of gross domestic product (compared with structural deficits of around 2.5 percent in the United States and 1.9 percent in the European Union). To hedge against inflation and general uncertainty, consumers have furiously acquired gold, rendering the country reliant on foreign capital to finance its trade deficit.

Economic stability can be restored through major reforms to cut inefficient spending and raise taxes, thereby pruning the deficit and taming inflation. The economist Raghuram G. Rajan, who just left the University of Chicago to run India’s central bank, has his work cut out for him. So do Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, also an economist, and the governing party, the Indian National Congress. These steps need not come at the expense of the poor. For example, India is implementing an ambitious biometric identification scheme that will allow targeted cash transfers to replace inefficient welfare programs.

India can still become a manufacturing powerhouse, if it makes major upgrades to its roads, ports and power systems and reforms its labor laws and business regulations. But the country is in pre-election mode until early next year. Elections increase pressures to spend and delay reform. So India’s weakness and turbulence may persist for some time yet.

Arvind Subramanian, a senior fellow at both the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Center for Global Development, is the author of “Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China’s Economic Dominance.”




Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[General Lee]

What all he said ^^^ If you can't beat them, join them. You can bet the Legacies are looking at the Qantas deal very closely and the gears are turning.

Innovate or die has been the battle cry.

Again, Qantas needed help for Europe connects, and your DXB hub helped with that. AA already has BA for connects to India and Africa, and BA isn't happy with your airline at all. They want to fill BA and IB planes, not help you. BA is getting their own A380s and 787s, and they will control their LHR slots. Your 5 daily A380s to Heathrow probably don't make them happy. Very doubtful there will be any large investment, and the US merger, if it goes through, will really not help that happen. So Sugar, looks like the Sandpit will continue to burn away at your brain.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[711-24-7]

I am still searching for Hydrabad in Dubai GL?! I know there is one India, but I think India is not in ME.....that city happens to be loved by WESTERN tourist quite a bit!

 

[8sugarsugar]

Again, Qantas needed help for Europe connects, and your DXB hub helped with that. AA already has BA for connects to India and Africa, and BA isn't happy with your airline at all. They want to fill BA and IB planes, not help you. BA is getting their own A380s and 787s, and they will control their LHR slots. Your 5 daily A380s to Heathrow probably don't make them happy. Very doubtful there will be any large investment, and the US merger, if it goes through, will really not help that happen. So Sugar, looks like the Sandpit will continue to burn away at your brain.


Bye Bye---General Lee

only time will tell...you don't have a very good track record in this matter. I'm on the inside. Its amazing how you think you know more about Emirates' business plan than the insiders do.

Remember how embarrassed you were when JFK-Milan was announced? Especially the day before it was officially announced, you ranted about how that will NEVER EVER happen. Only defense you had next morning was something about the hot desert and my layover in Dhaka.

Btw, JFK-MXP starts Oct 1st and the flights loads are already well overbooked into December.


Maybe a second daily JFK-MXP is in the pipeline? Now i'm just purely speculating with no inside info!! :smash:

 

[Flybywire44]

Rumor has it, Emirate's private 319 was in Dallas couple weeks ago..shortly after the merger hit a snag with US Air. 3 years ago Emirates was in talks with AA for some joint venture, but that fell through after the merger with US Air.

You heard it here first. Maybe a 49% purchase? Maybe a bailout like Qantas. Maybe after bankruptcy, you will see American Airlines flights ### operated by Emirates.

That may be better than any merger. Emirates does AA's wide body network feeding into DFW, and AA takes them the rest of the domestic way. Delta/United et al, have a hard time competing with the AA product "operated by Emirates"

^too much speculating for now, my car and driver are waiting for me outside..time to fly

Emirates may have just chartered one of their Executive a319s:

http://www.emirates-executive.com/english/index.asp

http://www.businessinsider.com/emirates-turns-a319-into-private-jet-2013-8?op=1

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/07/travel/emirates-executive-airbus-private-jet


On a separate note, I remember interviewing at Emirates and the recruiter telling me that "EK does not code share" and "carriers who code share exhibit weakness." So much for that train of thought.

 

[General Lee]

I am still searching for Hydrabad in Dubai GL?! I know there is one India, but I think India is not in ME.....that city happens to be loved by WESTERN tourist quite a bit!

Is that supposed to be funny? (You misspelled it, of course) Your airline has 3 daily flights to Hyderabad, an A345, a 772, and an A332. And, I really don't think it is LOVED by Western Tourists..... Riiiight. Goa, maybe. Hyderabad, doubtful.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Green]

General,

The US is currently growing at a rate of 2.5%, while according to your article India is growing at 4.4%. The US aviation market is highly competitive while the local airlines in India are a mess. Looks like there's much more opportunity for expansion and profit growth at EK than the typical US carrier.

Hyderabad doesn't look that bad to me.
http://www.google.com/search?q=hyde...C9OtsASuiYDABQ&ved=0CIcBELAE&biw=1247&bih=600

But I hate flying there as I find the night turns quite fatiguing. I usually get stuck with one every 3-5 months. I actually have one this month. But with 15 off days plus 2 rest days (would be called an OFF day in the States) I can't really complain.

I think it's quite a stretch calling EK a Low cost carrier. Even from a work rule point of view. Every poster on pprune knows that EK management actively monitor the message boards. It's an easy way to vent your frustrations. Attrition is less than 3%. For a contract job that's extremely low.


Back to the Low Cost thing...At my previous legacy I was used to hampton inns, holiday inns, stinky old sheratons, etc while at EK you stay in 4-5 stars everywhere. We get 42 vacation days per year, driven to work, unlimited travel anywhere in the world, 1 positive space ticket/year anywhere in the world, great onboard food, nice destinations, and when you add up all the financials about 140k to start.

It would be interesting to compare the actual schedule, pay, lifestyle of a new hire EK pilot vs new hire DAL pilot over 5 years.

But one thing you are right about General is that Dubai leaves a lot to be desired, and training is a real pain in the as@! Some people make it work others bail... There are many positives and negatives to working for EK (or any overseas carrier for that matter). The truth is that there is no perfect job

What I can't figure out is why you are always trying to convince everyone that DAL is the pinnacle of aviation?? Did you get picked on as a kid?

 

[Furloughed80]

LMAO, EK pilots trolling on FI.com. Things must be getting really bad there.

 

[General Lee]

only time will tell...you don't have a very good track record in this matter. I'm on the inside. Its amazing how you think you know more about Emirates' business plan than the insiders do.

Remember how embarrassed you were when JFK-Milan was announced? Especially the day before it was officially announced, you ranted about how that will NEVER EVER happen. Only defense you had next morning was something about the hot desert and my layover in Dhaka.

Btw, JFK-MXP starts Oct 1st and the flights loads are already well overbooked into December.


Maybe a second daily JFK-MXP is in the pipeline? Now i'm just purely speculating with no inside info!! :smash:

Wow, you're on the INSIDE!!! Thanks Sugar Al Maktoum! So anyways.... You might have a good shot at MXP to JFK (I thought you said maybe buy a portion of AA? They fly MXP to JFK also, right? Look at Flt 199), but who the heck came up with Birmingham to Boston? Just when I think you figured it out, someone over there pulls a route out of their rear and pretty much makes everyone wince and shake their head. So Mr. Insider, go back to the dart board and figure out where else to go. Where was the other mentioned new route? I need a good laugh again. Oh, I did see a new Conakry route 4 days a week on an A343. That really doesn't sound fun. But, I think you should bid it just for the heck of it. Yikes.


Bye Bye----General Lee

 

[Green]

LMAO, EK pilots trolling on FI.com. Things must be getting really bad there.

I'm not sure I follow your logic or humor.... I'm from the states, have worked for several us airlines, and i've been on this board for the last 8 years.

Is flightinfo strictly for US based pilots now?

 

[Green]

but who the heck came up with Birmingham to Boston? Just when I think you figured it out, someone over there pulls a route out of their rear and pretty much makes everyone wince and shake their head.
Bye Bye----General Lee

Who is wincing and shaking their head?? You? I can't believe EK forgot to get a consultation from General Lee of FI.com....

I don't' think there is anybody in the business better than Emirates at opening routes and filing aircraft. If they open BHX-BOS then I would bet good money it's going to run at a high load factor. Emirates as a brand has a huge presence in the UK. Birmingham is a lot more convenient than LHR for a lot of US bound Brits, Indians, Pakistanis, etc.

They operate 777's on 40 minute legs. Obviously Emirates is unconventional but the track record speaks for itself. How many years has EK lost money? They seem to be more concerned with hiding profits than making them.

 

[8sugarsugar]

thank you Green. I believe Glee is possibly the stupidest person I have ever dealt with and I don't even know why i spend my time correcting his xenophobia and ignorance.

Get this, I argue with a guy who has never been to Dubai about how Dubai is like.

And for some reason, some Delta guy (Glee) knows more about the meetings I attend about route expansion at EK HQ.

Don't worry Glee, you'll be long retired before Emirates hurts you.

 

[8sugarsugar]

Before General Lee chimes in, just let me fill in the blanks for him

1. "never ever will happen."
2. "delta is better than you"
3. "enjoy your Dhaka layover"
4. "enjoy the Dubai heat"
5. "enjoy the Dubai rapes"
6. "the unions will stop emirates"
7. "Delta skymiles program will stop anyone from flying emirates"
8. "Delta's business class is awesome"
9. "it is unpatriotic that Emirate's buys 100's of Boeing Jets, we shouldn't sell them anything"
10. "Everyone is gay except for me"

repeat

you are welcome General Lee, saved you some time.

And for some reason, this time Glee talked about rapes more than ever. I don't want to know....creepy

Anyway, this round, Glee did manage to mention just about all his predictable responses above. He needs some new material.

Until next time, You'll see me again when some more major news breaks once again proving Glee wrong.

 

[General Lee]

Who is wincing and shaking their head?? You? I can't believe EK forgot to get a consultation from General Lee of FI.com....

I don't' think there is anybody in the business better than Emirates at opening routes and filing aircraft. If they open BHX-BOS then I would bet good money it's going to run at a high load factor. Emirates as a brand has a huge presence in the UK. Birmingham is a lot more convenient than LHR for a lot of US bound Brits, Indians, Pakistanis, etc.

They operate 777's on 40 minute legs. Obviously Emirates is unconventional but the track record speaks for itself. How many years has EK lost money? They seem to be more concerned with hiding profits than making them.

Uhhhhhh, has anyone EVER thought BOS to Birmingham would work? Can you come up with a reason? Why wouldn't BA start that route? Google says Birmingham to London is 118 miles, or 2 hours 40 min by car. Are you sure it is more convenient? Not for people living in London. Only UAL flies from Birmingham to the US. AA tried it to JFK, and it failed. But, that great brand will obviously make it a hit..... We'll see about that, but to BOS? Whaaaaat?

Emirates used to do more 40 min legs, especially between other cities within the region, like Bahrain and Kuwait City. Lately, they cut that way back, adding FlyDubai 737-800s to do many of them. They figured it out, big planes cost a lot to do shorthaul. Both Qatari and Etihad have A320s doing those same type routes.

Maybe they need a consult. You obviously do, and you're welcome.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[General Lee]

And for some reason, this time Glee talked about rapes more than ever. I don't want to know....creepy

Anyway, this round, Glee did manage to mention just about all his predictable responses above. He needs some new material.

Until next time, You'll see me again when some more major news breaks once again proving Glee wrong.

We KNOW you don't want to know about rapes and victims going to prison. You're right, that is creepy. Why did that happen? Can I give you the link to watch? It was on Australia's version of "60 Mins". Maybe you don't like knowing what goes on around you?

And, you just can't prove me wrong, the truth is on my side and I'm smarter than you and fv.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Furloughed80]

I'm not sure I follow your logic or humor.... I'm from the states, have worked for several us airlines, and i've been on this board for the last 8 years.

Is flightinfo strictly for US based pilots now?

Trolling -
informal
submit a deliberately provocative posting to an online message board with the aim of inciting an angry response.


Get it?

 

[Green]

Trolling -
informal
submit a deliberately provocative posting to an online message board with the aim of inciting an angry response.


Get it?

I understand what trolling is. I just don't see how an EK pilot posting about a possible AA tie up is offensive or provocative? This board is designed for airline news, speculation, and rumors.

Qantas has already been helped immensely by the EK agreement. It might be just what AA needs to compete effectively against UAL/DAL. EK would provide AA with service to India, Africa and could fill in your pacific gap by eventually operating Japan, Thailand, and Phil to the USA.

So why are you angry again?

 

[fareview]

GLs obsession with EK, SWA et al. is fascinating.

I mean there is nobody on FI who preaches to DAL pilots how their life is...yet he incessantly tells us how ours is.

You going to tell 777 Captains how our life is next....you don't know, nor will you ever (or should you with your behavior)

fv
ps Sorry gents, I little cranky this time of year as I start paying a little bit of tax around now for the first time.