NBC Nightly News "Low Cost Airlines"

[superrav]

Their will be a spot on the The NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw on NBC about Low Cost Carriers, I saw the commercial on MSNBC and confirmed it with an email to the nightly news. Enjoy...

 

[superrav]

I think it starts at 7et...anyone confirm?

 

[jarhead]

Just watched the piece. Talk about doom and gloom for the future of major carriers.

Brokaw announced at the end of the piece, that Tomorrow (Friday evening) NBC nightly news will report on the "regional" jets and their impact on the Majors.

 

[superrav]

tomorrow's piece should be better..

 

[Floyd94]

For those of us that missed it, please do tell...

 

[jarhead]

Bob Hagar delivered the rather lengthy report, interviewing both Neelman of Jet Blue, and a guy that heads up an organzation for airline passengers. Hager was on board a JetBlu flight, showing the TV's in the back of each seat, the plush leather seating, and told how low the ticket prices were. Said that while all the majors are losing money, SWA, JB, and Airtran were all making money while passengers are more and more flocking to them for the ticket prices being offered. Hager mentioned two destinations, one $39.00, and another $79.00 and that the majors were charging 4 times that much. He said the reason they can do this is due to the much lower labor costs, and that the employees are required to do more work. Also stated that reservation agents are allowed to work out of their homes. The "expert" on passenger trends, stated that studies indicate this trend will continue to grow, and the majors have some real problems if they don't adapt; they'll go the way of the dinosaur.

Hager did a little bit about Song and TED, but said that does not appear to be getting much traction for the bottom line.

That's about all I remember about it. Maybe there is a video link to it, and perhaps MSNBC will run a repeat of the piece.

 

[General Lee]

Most of the Majors have gotten leaner since 9-11----Delta has let about 16,000 employees go (some on furlough). These News reports often compare the Majors to the LCCs without stating that the Majors have actually cut way back on pay and benefits for some employees, and have done a lot of other things to get more competitive. As far as pay scales go--after the pilots take a pay cut here, the only ones making the big bucks will be management---and will they take a pay cut? As far as things hurting all airline now--primarily it is fuel prices ($36 a barrel). Some airlines have not hedged fuel at all (NW, CO, and the BK airlines---UA and USAir)---but some have SW--85% and DL 58% this quarter and 38% for the rest of the year--which is the best in the Legacy carriers. Overall, the Majors have been trying to get the costs down and look a lot better than pre-9-11---and that Hager guy on NBC loves the Dramatics------you should see him talk about airplane crashes.....way too dramatic---heck--it is TV.

Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[jarhead]

I'd be interested in what kind of compensation package Neelman has, and how that might compare to what the same positions pay at NWA, DAL, etc. Anyone have a swag on that? It should be public data from annual reports, but I have no access to that.

 

[vc10]

I'd be interested in what kind of compensation package Neelman has, and how that might compare to what the same positions pay at NWA, DAL, etc. Anyone have a swag on that? It should be public data from annual reports, but I have no access to that.

Yes you do. You can access JBLU financial reports through their website (http://www.jetblue.com) under Investor Relations.

You can also go to

http://edgar.sec.gov

and find everything filed with the SEC, including all of JBLU's stuff and from all the other publicly-owned carriers (which is just about everything with the exception of the private regionals, like Trans States and Chautauqua, and the occasional private mainline airline, like Spirit).

And even then you can find a lot of stuff at the DOT.

So hop to it!

 

[jarhead]

aye, aye, Sir!

 

[General Lee]

I love how Tom Brokaw said at the end, "Tommorow night, part two---how people are now flying regional jets longer distances for low cost too." What? Low cost RJ's? I doubt that. The CASM is a lot higher on the RJs than on larger mainline planes. And, with the LCCs flying more and more mainline sized jets (A320s, 737s etc.) and charging lower fares---the only way to compete is with larger planes (like Song 757s)--with more seats so you can spread out the costs. Can you make money on a 50 seat or 70 seat RJ competing with a Jetblue A320 that charges $79 from IAD to FLL? 50 x $79= $3950. How much for gas, insurance, crew costs, and daily lease rates? You need more seats. But hey--Mesa will be getting 737s--so we are all screwed.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[superrav]

How much does the CEO at Jetblue make? For some reason i've heard ..but cant recall at the moment its not that much...can anyone comfirm?

 

[jetexas]

I think the JB CEO makes, self imposed, $200K/year. In an article I read about him, his board had said he should earn much more but he declined citing his company's "best interests". What a concept.

 

[superrav]

thanks for refreshing my memory..Thats what I thought. I think its great..theirs a Leader that has his company first on his priority list.

 

[climbhappy]

200k is for PR...has a sh$tload of stock

the jetblue Head honcho may only draw 200k, but his stock is worth tens of millions.

like most politicians, he can talk out of both sides of his mouth.

 

[vc10]

But he invested his own money and his own sweat equity into JBLU.

He created a company that's worth $2.5 billion in the face of considerable skepticism that it would work. You don't think that's worth something? JBLU investors certainly think it is.

 

[jarhead]

Stock isn't worth much unless your company is making money. The fact is, JetBlu is in the black. If that's due to Neelman's vision and management skill, Kudos. A friend of mine bought some stock several months ago in AirTran. He sold it recently with enough gain to purchase a new Snowmobile for himself, around 6K if I recall correctly. I would never detract from a successful enterprise. I find it easy to say "throw the bums out" when they are failing.

 

[MoMiller]

Everything Neelman touches turns to gold, i.e., Southwest and Jetblue. They are two of the three majors that are making money presently, and both have been headed by Neelman.

He also Ceo'd Westjet of Canada.

 

[TR4A]

Everything Neelman touches turns to gold, i.e., Southwest and Jetblue. They are two of the three majors that are making money presently, and both have been headed by Neelman

Wrong. Neelman came to SWA with Morris Air in 1994. He never "headed" Southwest.

 

[AftCG182]

ANNOUNCEMTENT FOR THOSE LOW-TIMERS LIKE MYSELF WHO READ THESE POSTS AND DREAM OF HAVING A JOB THAT PAYS WELL ENOUGH TO BITCH....................

Tomorrows RJ-focused episode is going to stir up enough scope clause and other associated s*** to make this thread fun for a long, long time