LUV Halts All Growth

[crj567]

well we know the General is following this thread now.....

The General follows ALL threads and simply inserts his "influence" only at the time when he can have the fullest effect of being a giant toolbag!

 

[GuppyWN]

Gup if this is true, I will buy your beer if we ever end up on an overnight....but wait you don't know who I am...nobody pm him yet...lets wait and see

You were in BUF in January. Scared now? I know EVERYTHING.

Gup

 

[General Lee]

The General follows ALL threads and simply inserts his "influence" only at the time when he can have the fullest effect of being a giant toolbag!

Were you the FO flying that CR7 at SAV the other day? I knew it.....

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[Whine Lover]

" You get pissed."

Not really GUP...When I say "Blow me" I only mean it as an expression of incredulity.

Not one of anger towards any individual specifically.

I've just seen the "Ostrich Phenomenom" so many times in this industry it never ceases to amuse and amaze me.



( See ...that's a smiley face! Yay!. )


YKW

 

[AA767AV8TOR]

AA76's love affair with SWA continues.

Thanks for the update.

Quimby,

You're welcome! Living down in the Dallas Fort Worth area, it’s kind of hard to get away from all the LUV news. Yes, there’s little doubt that there is a certain amount of envy from across town at how LUV’s management has handled their airline over the last decade. Their management has been the envy of all especially in their hedging department.

But, the times are a changing as they say. Herb has now stepped aside. Their hedge advantage which has been propelling their growth the last five years has been lost. Their productivity advantage has been minimized through the legacy bankruptcy contracts. Yes, LUV is still a great airline, but they are one of the big boys now along with all the associated troubles. They’re not as nimble as they once were. Like it or not though, LUV is the bellwether for the industry. As LUV goes, so does the rest of us now.

We all hope the growth cycle will last forever, though it’s a numerical impossibility. This is what the rest of us realized as we fought so hard over the Age 65 rule. Believe me, over at AA – we know stagnation!! A good amount of us will hit our 20 year point still throwing gear and topped out at a 68% cap. It’s pretty amazing how fast the house of cards can tumble down. Over at AA, we faced the same dilemma after 911 when the economy dumped.

For the most part, over at AA, we’ve been moving backwards or stagnated for the better part of a decade. We had some slight movement the past year as a bunch of senior guys locked into a higher B-Fund price as the stock market plunged. We also had a limited number of recalls but that looks like it’s done for the next four years as Age 65 rears its ugly head over here.

Let’s face it, the career has changed. The junior folks over at LUV will have a much different career that that of their senior pilots. I just hope SWAPA holds the line on scope. Our careers are depending on it.

AA767AV8TOR

 

[Dude]

Me too.

 

[funnyman12]

Any hypothesis on why the Pilot union and TWU both got TA's within the last month? Interesting if you ask me. Why would management need contracts? I know AAI management doesn't seem to need its unions to have new contracts.

 

[Scope out RJ's]

Any hypothesis on why the Pilot union and TWU both got TA's within the last month? Interesting if you ask me. Why would management need contracts? I know AAI management doesn't seem to need its unions to have new contracts.

Southwest isn't just a small airline any more. They're a true legacy with true legacy problems. Herb is no longer there, and the koolaid has stopped being consumed.
Several reasons:

1. Make the (senior) pilots happy.
2. Outsource more flying (see volaris/westjet)
3. Start furlughing.
4. See #1

 

[AA767AV8TOR]

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/03/southwest-airlines-growth-and.html

Southwest Airlines, growth and Gary Kelly

9:39 AM Mon, Mar 02, 2009

Terry Maxon

We talked recently to Southwest Airlines chairman, president and CEO Gary Kelly about Southwest's decision to stop growing for an undetermined period. We called it unprecedented; Gary noted that the airline took emergency steps in 2001 to mothball some airplanes fresh out of the factory.

I had put those comments in our Sunday story about Southwest's hiatus from growth. However, we had to cut the story's length, and that part had to shortened.

But Gary made some good points, so let's revisit them.

As we reported Sunday, Kelly likened the current environment to the period just after the Sept. 11 attacks when airlines first were forced to ground all their flights, then saw a sharp drop-off in passengers after the airlines began flying again.

Southwest reacted to the crisis by deferring delivery a number of 19 new airplanes. A trust bought the airplanes for Southwest and parked them in the desert until Southwest was ready to put them into service in 2002.

Southwest's capacity, in available seat miles, was down for only one month, September 2001 compared to September 2000. Its full year 2001 capacity jumped 9 percent over 2000, and 2003's capacity was up 5.5 percent over 2002.

However, "that's just arithmetic," Kelly said. "We added no airplanes into the fleet for what turned out to be eight or nine months."

 

[RedDogC130]

You were in BUF in January. Scared now? I know EVERYTHING.

Gup

Hmmmmm...I have to do a like thinking now....do I know you????