Is United Furloughing

[alaskaplt]

Did United ever decide if they are going to furlough or not? If so how many and any idea what hire date it will go back to?

Thanks

 

[dispatchguy]

My buddy (DEN 320 F/O) with a Nov 99 DOH said he expects to go bye-bye in the Spring...

 

[JetPilot_Mike]

Around 200 so far and another 400ish (including those on LOA) in January. Looks like the 8-ball at that time will be a mid 2000 hire.

 

[Mach 80]

Is it true that UAL recently purchased a bunch of fuel hedges based on $120 a barrel oil and are going to lose a bunch on it.....or do they have some sort of 'short' protection on them? Someone told me they may lose a million $ a day on them at the new low oil prices.

 

[grog_sit_reserv]

If they hedged oil at $120 they will lose money.

But, the point of the hedge was to keep costs stable, so they should balance the loss by having lower fuel costs. The problem is how quickly its fallen off. Its happened so fast that gas prices haven't come down, nor will they by the way, because the oil market is too volatile to allow it.

GLTA

 

[alaskaplt]

Around 200 so far and another 400ish (including those on LOA) in January. Looks like the 8-ball at that time will be a mid 2000 hire.

That sux! Anyone have any idea what the most junior persons hire date is that is currently still on property?

 

[bluefin]

They are going to furlough roughly 900 before next summer's schedule. Jan is going to start with 200+ on Jan. 14 and another 150+ Jan 24.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

If they did the hedges the old fashion way, and not the SWA way yes they will loose money. I think that many airlines are going to loose a bunch this quarter.

 

[BID]

so to recap 200 are furloughed right now. What is the hire date?

 

[bluefin]

I think anyone hired in 01 that returned. At the end of Jan 09 most jr is going to be 7212, that may translate to 9/00(rough guess)

 

[Chairman]

139 from the bottom and still on a LOA furlough in Jan is expected. 11/07 hire.

Chairman

 

[johnsonrod]

Friend on the 737 fleet just got his furlough notice for Jan/Feb. He left a solid regional job for UAL and he is pi$$ed. He is currently looking at opps in China, India and Dubai (FlyDubai).

 

[Turtle21]

Friend on the 737 fleet just got his furlough notice for Jan/Feb. He left a solid regional job for UAL ..

But they are both ALPA carriers... right?

 

[contrail67]

Friend on the 737 fleet just got his furlough notice for Jan/Feb. He left a solid regional job for UAL and he is pi$$ed. He is currently looking at opps in China, India and Dubai (FlyDubai).

Alot of folks did this to achieve a goal they had. Hope it does turn around in the end for him. This all may be to set up for a merger in the end....and if that does happen, I am sure he will get recalled to a better situation. At least he has the ID badge to come back to.

 

[contrail67]

Friend on the 737 fleet just got his furlough notice for Jan/Feb. He left a solid regional job for UAL and he is pi$$ed. He is currently looking at opps in China, India and Dubai (FlyDubai).

............

 

[contrail67]

Friend on the 737 fleet just got his furlough notice for Jan/Feb. He left a solid regional job for UAL and he is pi$$ed. He is currently looking at opps in China, India and Dubai (FlyDubai).

First of all....the announcement for the additional furloughs in Jan. came out yesterday afternoon. It is impossible that your friend already got a furlough notice already...less than 24 hours. Voluntary furloughs have their opportunity now to take a leave....they have until October 29 to put their request in. For every person that takes the voluntary furlough...a involuntary furlough is saved.

 

[BigRed1]

If they did the hedges the old fashion way, and not the SWA way yes they will loose money. I think that many airlines are going to loose a bunch this quarter.

It's much more complicated than a simple contract to purchase at a certain price. According to United's press release from this summer, we hedge fuel using three-way collars.

What these contracts basically do is lock in the fuel price if it rises and protect the buyer if the price falls through the floor. For an example just using numbers I made up, let's say United sets up a 3-way with a cap at $110/bbl, and a "floor" of $100 (actually called put levels, but never mind the jargon).

Clear as mud???

Once again, just using a super simple model, if fuel rises above the cap of $110/bbl, the fuel vendor reimburses the buyer (United) for the difference, so we only pay $110 regardless how high it goes. If fuel prices remain (float) within a certain range between $110 and $100, there is no adjustment. If however, fuel prices plummet to say $85/bbl, the buyer must pay a small amount back to the fuel vendor, but we still pay well under the $100 contract price.

 

[GuppyPuppy]

Today I feel lucky that I didn't go back to UA. Tomorrow might be a different story.

3/2000 hire.

GP

 

[contrail67]

They are trimming down...in the slowest time of the year...most cuts in Jan.... before a merger. Smarter to do it that way...from a cost viewpoint. Just trying to have a realistic view instead of a short sided negative viewpoint. Will see what happens...just my opinion.

 

[Captzaahlie]

Alot of folks did this to achieve a goal they had.

I resemble that remark, lets hope the wait is not forever......