This will certainly be interesting to watch. What is the current speculation on the number of (post merger) mainline planes to be parked and the number of furloughs?
If anything, you gotta have some respect for a couple of MEC's taking a pro-active approach...I mean why not...since the company will do what the want anyway...
But in this case, the brothers and sisters at AWA/USAir can only dream of a deal like this, IMHO.
If they wanted to park more planes, they probably could have announced that now, when other airlines are doing it. Another reason they may not have announced a major mass parking of planes could be the political ramifications, possibly spooking some in Congress. I think they will try to throw some DC9s on routes made for 100 seaters, and see what happens. Also, I think they are counting on oil going down after Congress passes a law against oil speculation. Good Ole Doug Steenland just testified infront of Congress asking for more to be done. I am sure it would affect his stock options if oil went down and he walked away with more coin. We shall see, but right now I see us getting 8 (not 6 like I have stated before) new 777s next year, along with the remainder of the 10 737-700s, and a good chance of MD90s, possibly replacing some DC9s if they go away. We shall see....
Northwest CEO Wants Oil Speculation Addressed
06/23/08 - 09:05 PM EDT
As Congress moves to consider limits on the presence of speculators in the oil market, it will have the strong backing of the airline industry.
At a hearing Monday of the House subcommittee on oversight and investigations, the chairman, Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said assets committed to commodity
trading indexes totaled $260 billion in March, up from $13 billion at the end of 2003. He said speculators account for 70% of the trading in West Texas Intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile exchange, up from 37% in 2000.
Stupak backed three measures -- raising the margin requirements for oil price speculators to 50%, establishing volume limits to ensure that most oil
futures buyers are consumers, such as airlines and refiners, and requiring full disclosure of trading.
A witness at the hearing was Doug Steenland, CEO of
Northwest(
NWA -
Cramer's Take -
Stockpickr) and president of the Air Transport Association.
"The highest priority is to look to tackle the overall price of fuel, given the fact that it's now 40% of our total cost pie," Steenland said. "Clearly, addressing the financial speculation is the most immediate thing the Congress can do."
The ATA says the industry's 2008 oil bill is expected to increase by $20 billion to $61 billion, resulting in an expected loss of around $10 billion. Already, eight carriers have shut down, and about 14,000 airline industry jobs have been lost. The industry "is going to have to be in a bit of a race," Steenland, whose airline is merging with
Delta(
DAL -
Cramer's Take -
Stockpickr), said. "We're looking to pass through those costs as quickly as we can. As those costs get passed through demand shrinks, and so we need to take capacity out."
Bye Bye--General Lee
Anyway, I still think you have a great company with fun stews and great pay. Keep it up!
