Future AMR/B6 timeline....

[Lake Alice]

I had Barger on the Jumpseat 2009 when he stated the Jetblue leadership had looked into buying Frontier.

 

[Flyby1206]

Where did you pick that second part of that first sentence from? Was there a company email that I missed?

Yea, there was one recently that had that sort of tone, ill dig and see if I can find it.

Here it is, Quarterly Financial Report for Q4 and Year-End 2011, Corporate Communications, sent 1/26/12:

Capacity is down in large part because of bankruptcies and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. For our part, we are content to benefit from the decreased capacity while building our business through organic growth. Remember that while we are not immune to M&A activity, we have no interest in participating. It’s our intention to grow JetBlue “organically” — meaning, with our own metal, our own people, and our own strategy. That doesn't mean others might not be interested in us, though! We are dedicated to building the moat around our business by increasing our market capitalization, which will counter that vulnerability. Generating free cash flow maintaining strong liquidity are important parts of our defense as well.

 

[WDE]

Its in the works already, I enjoy working at B6, but see many more changes going down over next 2 yrs. I can assure you there will still be plenty of shocked faces at B6 when the email comes out, and there will be a group of us that have seen this whole thing happening right in front of us. Just being a realist, it will happen, and it won't be fun. Cheers !

 

[JetFumes]

I don't think Southwest airlines would take a b6 takeover by AMR too kindly. My guess is they would come in and spoil the deal by making their own offer. In fact, they may be anticipating an AMR move and would jump in first. Just a guess.

 

[J32driver]

Your "milspec" labeling makes you sound ignorant.

Your original comment makes you sound as if you are "whistling past the graveyard".

I don't stress about the rumors of us being bought. On the other hand... if it happens, I'll be one of the ones that can say "yep... that wasn't much of a surprise" while I knock the dust off the logbooks.

 

[B6Busdriver]

Yea, there was one recently that had that sort of tone, ill dig and see if I can find it.

Here it is, Quarterly Financial Report for Q4 and Year-End 2011, Corporate Communications, sent 1/26/12:

Capacity is down in large part because of bankruptcies and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. For our part, we are content to benefit from the decreased capacity while building our business through organic growth. Remember that while we are not immune to M&A activity, we have no interest in participating. It’s our intention to grow JetBlue “organically” — meaning, with our own metal, our own people, and our own strategy. That doesn't mean others might not be interested in us, though! We are dedicated to building the moat around our business by increasing our market capitalization, which will counter that vulnerability. Generating free cash flow maintaining strong liquidity are important parts of our defense as well.

Thanks for posting that. What say you Blue Bayou?

 

[bluechunks]

The problem is that a staple doen't exist anymore.

Actually, it does; there's a loophole in McCaskill-Bond big enough to fly N503JB full of BOBs through.

Hint: AA will have its own large fleet of A320's by the time any deal happens. Who says AA has to actually merge operations with JB?

 

[kommutrdog]

How old is AA's seniority list? How many retirements are there in the next 5-10 years?

ALL of the big boyz will be having problems filling their cockpits at current levels.

B6 offers 2000+ pilots who are trainable (eventually).

 

[BoilerUP]

ALL of the big boyz will be having problems filling their cockpits at current levels.

No, they won't.

There will NEVER be a shortage of well-qualified pilot candidates for the 'best' jobs that offer good compensation and lifestyle.

Regionals and ULCCs, on the other hand...

 

[JJthejetplane]

Why would American buy JetBlue? They are going to use the business model of outsourcing to the regionals, but since the CRJ isn't profitable, they will turn to companies like JetBlue with 100-150 seat airplanes to outsource. The only reason the would buy JetBlue is if scope didn't allow them to outsource the flying, but in bankruptcy, scope is going to be pretty much meaningless. They will outsource some domestic flying until JetBlue gets to expensive, then go to someone else like VA or Spirit. JetBlue will be left in a situation similar to Comair. We can only hope that American buys JetBlue. Otherwise, we will be constantly reducing cost (read lower wages, benefits, etc.) in order to maintain the flying we have. In the mean time, there will be many people enjoying the short-term benefits of rapid growth at the expense of undercutting legacy contracts. It is the regionals all over again, just with larger equipment.

 

[ASA_Aviator]

No, they won't.

There will NEVER be a shortage of well-qualified pilot candidates for the 'best' jobs that offer good compensation and lifestyle.

Regionals and ULCCs, on the other hand...

There's never a shortage in any industry for the best jobs. I agree the regionals are going to suffer.

 

[Flyby1206]

How old is AA's seniority list? How many retirements are there in the next 5-10 years?

ALL of the big boyz will be having problems filling their cockpits at current levels.

B6 offers 2000+ pilots who are trainable (eventually).

That is making a big assumption that AA will replace every pilot who retires. With the current BK and announcement of 400 furloughs, along with trying to get unlimited domestic codeshare and RJ outsourcing, I cant see growth in pilot numbers at AA in the next 5-10 yrs.

 

[Splert]

Actually, it does; there's a loophole in McCaskill-Bond big enough to fly N503JB full of BOBs through.

Hint: AA will have its own large fleet of A320's by the time any deal happens. Who says AA has to actually merge operations with JB?

Bingo ...

 

[Lake Alice]

Thanks for posting that. What say you Blue Bayou?

What's he going to say. Dave will take care of me. ALPA screwed me at Usair. I write up captains for taxiing and flying slow. But I did sign up for 3A.

 

[Flyby1206]

2+2=?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...xit-bankruptcy-without-merger.html?cmpid=yhoo

AMR Corp (AAMRQ).’s American Airlines plans to exit bankruptcy as a stand-alone carrier and would consider making acquisitions afterward, Chief Executive Officer Tom Horton said.