Is Re-Regulation the Answer?

[ifly4food]

Oh, now it's more clear!!

Don't fear, not everyone who listenes to NPR is a liberal commie wacko!

 

[AWACoff]

I'm a libertarian at heart so re-regulation would not be my cup of tea. On the other hand...should we really let the "lowest bidder" be the carrier we trust our families to? Deregulation has not worked with the airlines to a large degree. There is too much emphasis on penny pinching which only develops into a large pile of blood money. There must be a way for airlines to operate safely and economically... Speak up if you know how.

 

[flywithastick]

Low bidder works for the space program!!

 

[Eagleflip]

Ifly4food---
I'm one of the three folks who blasted the article's author for his rather blase attitude toward passengers, and yep...I am an airline pilot.

Not a good looking one, but I get paid for being both ugly and competent.

As for your rant--heck, it's all "IMHO"...that's what makes the board so interesting.

But I still disagree with re-regulation...

As for AWACoff, how do you figure that the LCCs out there are pinching pennies to the point of developing "blood money?" Are there accidents out there that we are not aware of?

 

[ifly4food]

Ifly4food---
I'm one of the three folks who blasted the article's author for his rather blase attitude toward passengers, and yep...I am an airline pilot.

Not a good looking one, but I get paid for being both ugly and competent.

That makes two of us.
What I meant to say was "It's interesting how ONLY ONE OF THE THREE are airline pilots, but that one works for JBLU so it explains everything. JUST KIDDING!

But I still disagree with re-regulation...

As for AWACoff, how do you figure that the LCCs out there are pinching pennies to the point of developing "blood money?" Are there accidents out there that we are not aware of?

I'm not sure the LCCs are pinching pennies as much as the "majors". I think the business models of the LCCs right now actually make them less prone to penny pinching and thus safer.
It's the majors I would worry about, especially those that haven't gone bankrupt yet. Staffing shortages, parts shortages, mechs and crews fatigued from having to work longer shifts... lots of things are conspiring to make ops less safe. This is why I'd like to see the government step in. It's the only way the major airlines will stop their cutthroat practices and fully embrace the new world of aviation.

 

[chawbein]

If the govt. comes in and regulates the business, everything will be happy? What about passengers? How in the world does an airline expect people to pay "what the ticket is worth" and still have people fly with them? Re-regulating the airline industry will make shockwaves throughout the rest of the economy. Businesses will not spend the money to send a guy across the country, instead they will invest the money in video-conferencing equipment. A much better investment IMHO.

The last business trip I went on I had to fly SWA. This is becuase if the ticket cost more than $500/person, it had to be signed off by a Vice President (by the way I work for a fortune 500 company). Guess what, SWA advertises anytime fares of no more than $399 each way even if you walk up to the counter. How is a "major" gonna compete with this? They can't.

Y'all talk about how LCC's are totally different from the "majors". Yes, they are different, they built their business model on EFFICIENCY. The "majors" have no idea what efficiency is. It's called 2-3 different types of aircraft, cutting off unprofitable routes, and paying employees reasonable salaries (I mean a good base rate and giving raises based on merit).

 

[Publishers]

Re-regulation

While a good rant never harms anyone, the fact is that regulation never served anyone very well.

What it did was protect the inefficient, overcharge the public on certain routes ludicrous air fares, allowed labor and others to pressure managements into contracts that were unsustainable in the free markets, and allowed managements to run their businesses without regard to keeping cost in line.

The customer has changed and will not give up what has been achieved. h

The problem was that these major carriers had created massive infras tructures during regulation. When deregulation was thrust upon them, new people with a new model actually had an advantage over the better established companies.

Some companies like Braniff for instance, tried to grap too much under the new deal and went down trying to be all things to all people. Others like Southwest or Alaska have prospered. Eastern committed suicide, Pan American fell under its debt and structure, TWA became a mess, and American became the power house.

Deregulation worked for the consumer, nothing else counts. It is a business and will never return to those protected days.

 

[TXCAP4228]

Assuming you believe the company's financial statement . . . .

Aircraft Rent $10.06 Million in the 3rd quarter.

$10 million divided by 3 months = $3.3 million/month divided by 32(?) acft = $103,000 per month for a A320? That's pretty cheap or maybe . . . .

Based on how they show it on the financials, its a non-purchase payment. It also not payment for 32 aircraft. I encourage you to read the financials for yourself before making unsubstantiated speculation. Statements like you made above are exactly what cause people to become misinformed.

They use a number of different financing instruments across a number of aircraft and equipment.