Opening Salvo AS vs DL

[AK737FO]

igneousy2,
I'm curious, why the doom and gloom? We work for the most successful legacy airline in the USA. To read your post would make one think that we are on deaths door waiting to take our last breath.
We all have ideas on how we think or hope the future pans out for our company, but Brad himself doesn't know. He just does the best he can by making sound business decisions and lets the chips fall where they may.
Why not look at your career here as a positive thing? Maybe the Q400 will work in AK? Maybe Alaska and Horizon experience well deserved controlled growth and prosper? Maybe our profit margins continue to trend up as they have the last 4 years? Why not dream big and dream positive especially when the company you work for is currently the most successful legacy airline in the USA?
I just don't understand the fear and negativity when things are going so well. I'm not wired that way - to see pain and suffering where none currently exists. I deal with pain and suffering when it is present, I don't manufacture it when it is absent.

 

[RNP.15]

igneousy2,
I'm curious, why the doom and gloom? We work for the most successful legacy airline in the USA. To read your post would make one think that we are on deaths door waiting to take our last breath.
We all have ideas on how we think or hope the future pans out for our company, but Brad himself doesn't know. He just does the best he can by making sound business decisions and lets the chips fall where they may.
Why not look at your career here as a positive thing? Maybe the Q400 will work in AK? Maybe Alaska and Horizon experience well deserved controlled growth and prosper? Maybe our profit margins continue to trend up as they have the last 4 years? Why not dream big and dream positive especially when the company you work for is currently the most successful legacy airline in the USA?
I just don't understand the fear and negativity when things are going so well. I'm not wired that way - to see pain and suffering where none currently exists. I deal with pain and suffering when it is present, I don't manufacture it when it is absent.

Amen brother!

 

[msmb]

This job still beats working!! Relax.. Trust me... Let it happen!

 

[RNP.15]

Rumor Dal to add sea-pdx / sea-san. I guess it's on.

 

[General Lee]

Rumor Dal to add sea-pdx / sea-san. I guess it's on.

Maybe your flights are consistently full on those routes and DL has plenty of INTL connecting traffic that wants to go to those places? Just like you guys adding SLC, MSP, and ATL from SEA, right? I hope DL adds back the Hawaii flying from PDX, and other islands from SEA. There should be more than enough demand.... Adding 717s out East means 76 seat RJs can test possible West Coast markets.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Flyby1206]

Per Delta.com
SEA-SAN eff June 2, 2014

OO4629 SEASAN 0700-0940 CR9
OO4666 SEASAN 1030-1310 CR9
OO4805 SEASAN 1330-1610 CR9
OO4818 SEASAN 1745-2025 CR9

OO4842 SANSEA 0645-0925 CR9
OO4629 SANSEA 1015-1255 CR9
OO4666 SANSEA 1400-1645 CR9
OO4805 SANSEA 1705-1950 CR9

SEA-PDX eff September 2, 2014

OO4603 SEAPDX 0730-0815CR9
OO4604 SEAPDX 1030-1115CR9
OO4611 SEAPDX 1400-1445CR9
OO4634 SEAPDX 1745-1830CR9

OO4603 PDXSEA0855-0941CR9
OO4604 PDXSEA1155-1240CR9
OO4611 PDXSEA1530-1615CR9
OO4634 PDXSEA1905-1950CR9

 

[moochild11]

Is any of this new "delta" flying actually gonna be done by delta?

 

[General Lee]

Is any of this new "delta" flying actually gonna be done by delta?

In the summer DL added mainline flights from SEA to ANC, LAX, and LAS. These seem like they are testing the water. But, it sure doesn't help AK any to add about 300 seats per day to those routes. Oh well. If they do well, maybe mainline will add some flights. I hope so. DL will be adding nonstops to Heathrow, Seoul, and Hong Kong from SEA shortly. Is that good?

I personally think they should use the 76 seaters that are being replaced by 717s out East on the West coast to again test the market. Hopefully they will try from SEA and PDX to GEG, BOI, BIL, FCA, SMF, OAK, SJC, EUG, MFR, MSO, HLN, FAT, SBA, STS, YVR, YEG, YYC, YLW, PSC, PHX, ONT, BUR, SNA, and LGB. I think that would be a good start....


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[CesnaCaptn]

Good luck to Delta adding a higher cost, inferior product on what I imagine are low yielding routes.

 

[General Lee]

Good luck to Delta adding a higher cost, inferior product on what I imagine are low yielding routes.

Again, speculating here, it would only be connections for INTL flights, right? SEA is gonna grow. And DL appears to be cracking down on RJ costs. How many RJs are you guys gonna add? What does your scope clause say? Sounds like you have an inferior scope clause.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

I hear Alaska is going to unveil a marketing plan soon: "Alaska: We're not Delta."

Seriously though, I hope AS thinks that SEA-SLC turn was worth all this.

 

[Old School 737]

I hear Alaska is going to unveil a marketing plan soon: "Alaska: We're not Delta."

Seriously though, I hope AS thinks that SEA-SLC turn was worth all this.

I don't think that is what delta is worried/pissed about !! But ...on another note how much debt does delta have ... Yea they made money but ..

 

[BILL LUMBERG]

Debt?
Below 10B....going to be below 7B by end of fiscal 2014.

When all the capital investments are over (terminals, new interiors, refineries, lounges, tablets, airplanes) they'll be targeting the debt load and dividends.

Pretty soon there will be enough cash in the bank to weather the next downturn and the next PWA.

 

[General Lee]

I don't think that is what delta is worried/pissed about !! But ...on another note how much debt does delta have ... Yea they made money but ..

Here we go again. In 2008 DL had $17 Billion in debt, which is now below $10 Billion (which was the initial target to save $500 million per year in interest alone). The revenue generation has been so huge, that management has now set a new target for $7 billion. That is amazing. Even good ole Kramer on CNBC has been touting DL. I bet your management is watching too.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Mea25000]

We have about a 13% cost savings over DAL with our mainline flying.. When they use an RJ which is really all they have committed its about twice that. RA is not happy with AS but he is going to get hammered on the West Coast fighting 181 seat aircraft with 76 seat RJ's.


Why Alaska Air Can't Stop Climbing
By Michael Lewis | More Articles | Save For Later
October 28, 2013 | Comments (0)

ALKAlaska Air G
CAPS Rating 2/5 Stars
$72.78 $0.58 (0.80%)

+ Watch ALK
on My Watchlist
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Warren Buffett may tout airlines as a great way to torch your investment capital, but there are exceptions. One great performer recently is Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK ) . The regional player has been steadily expanding its route coverage while simultaneously bumping up passenger revenue per available seat mile, or PRASM, which is a key measure of unit profitability. In its just-ended quarter, the company again surpassed analyst expectations and provided further evidence that management's plans to steadily and profitably expand the business are effective, to say the least. Even better for investors, the stock still has plenty of room to run.

Quarter recap
For the fiscal third quarter, Alaska Air hauled in an adjusted profit of $157 million, or $2.21 per share. Included in the generally accepted accounting principles (nonadjusted) number was a $120 million noncash revenue item. The Seattle-based carrier beat analyst expectations of $2.14 per share and posted a nice gain over the prior year's $2.09 per share. Through the first nine months of the year, the airline has generated $425 million in free cash flow.

The company continues to pay down debt, most recently bringing its debt-to-market cap ratio down by 7%, to 47%. On a net debt basis, the company is essentially liability-free. Its return on invested capital held steady at roughly 13%. The carrier's pre-tax earnings margin was 18.4%. And although PRASM has been a great rallying point over several quarters, total PRASM remained flat this time because of increased competitive pressure in some core routes. The figure should trend positive over the long term.

In previous quarters, management had expressed some concern with its Hawaii flights not maintaining capacity. That problem has since been fixed.

An industry ratings service cited Alaska Air as the most on-time airline of any domestic carrier, the most fuel-efficient of any domestic carrier, and No. 1 in customer service. If it all sounds great -- it was. This past three-month period marked Alaska Air's best quarter in operational history, according to management. It's the 18th month in a row that the company achieved a positive bottom line -- a striking number for the ever-volatile airline industry.

How high will it fly?
All of the great news surrounding Alaska Air, with the exception of competitive encroachment, bodes well for the company going forward. With an immaculate balance sheet and strong cash flow, Alaska Air can easily grow its routes, buy new planes as needed (it bought eight in the past 12 months -- in cash), and still find some left over to give back to shareholders in the form of a dividend or buyback.

Perhaps more than anything else, management has proved to be expert capital allocators. This is crucial for any business, but particularly so in the tight-margin, ultracompetitive airline business.

At 11 times forward earnings, an EV/EBITDA of under five times, and a price/earnings-to-growth ratio of 0.89, this company looks to be one of the best investments in the space. Forget the legacy carriers and the media-friendly mergers-and-acquisitions activity; Alaska Air is a highflier for any portfolio.

 

[General Lee]

We have about a 13% cost savings over DAL with our mainline flying.. When they use an RJ which is really all they have committed its about twice that. RA is not happy with AS but he is going to get hammered on the West Coast fighting 181 seat aircraft with 76 seat RJ's.


Why Alaska Air Can't Stop Climbing
By Michael Lewis | More Articles | Save For Later
October 28, 2013 | Comments (0)

ALKAlaska Air G
CAPS Rating 2/5 Stars
$72.78 $0.58 (0.80%)

+ Watch ALK
on My Watchlist
Watch stocks you care about
The single, easiest way to keep track of all the stocks that matter...

Your own personalized stock watchlist!

It's a 100% FREE Motley Fool service...
Click Here Now
Warren Buffett may tout airlines as a great way to torch your investment capital, but there are exceptions. One great performer recently is Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK ) . The regional player has been steadily expanding its route coverage while simultaneously bumping up passenger revenue per available seat mile, or PRASM, which is a key measure of unit profitability. In its just-ended quarter, the company again surpassed analyst expectations and provided further evidence that management's plans to steadily and profitably expand the business are effective, to say the least. Even better for investors, the stock still has plenty of room to run.

Quarter recap
For the fiscal third quarter, Alaska Air hauled in an adjusted profit of $157 million, or $2.21 per share. Included in the generally accepted accounting principles (nonadjusted) number was a $120 million noncash revenue item. The Seattle-based carrier beat analyst expectations of $2.14 per share and posted a nice gain over the prior year's $2.09 per share. Through the first nine months of the year, the airline has generated $425 million in free cash flow.

The company continues to pay down debt, most recently bringing its debt-to-market cap ratio down by 7%, to 47%. On a net debt basis, the company is essentially liability-free. Its return on invested capital held steady at roughly 13%. The carrier's pre-tax earnings margin was 18.4%. And although PRASM has been a great rallying point over several quarters, total PRASM remained flat this time because of increased competitive pressure in some core routes. The figure should trend positive over the long term.

In previous quarters, management had expressed some concern with its Hawaii flights not maintaining capacity. That problem has since been fixed.

An industry ratings service cited Alaska Air as the most on-time airline of any domestic carrier, the most fuel-efficient of any domestic carrier, and No. 1 in customer service. If it all sounds great -- it was. This past three-month period marked Alaska Air's best quarter in operational history, according to management. It's the 18th month in a row that the company achieved a positive bottom line -- a striking number for the ever-volatile airline industry.

How high will it fly?
All of the great news surrounding Alaska Air, with the exception of competitive encroachment, bodes well for the company going forward. With an immaculate balance sheet and strong cash flow, Alaska Air can easily grow its routes, buy new planes as needed (it bought eight in the past 12 months -- in cash), and still find some left over to give back to shareholders in the form of a dividend or buyback.

Perhaps more than anything else, management has proved to be expert capital allocators. This is crucial for any business, but particularly so in the tight-margin, ultracompetitive airline business.

At 11 times forward earnings, an EV/EBITDA of under five times, and a price/earnings-to-growth ratio of 0.89, this company looks to be one of the best investments in the space. Forget the legacy carriers and the media-friendly mergers-and-acquisitions activity; Alaska Air is a highflier for any portfolio.

Kramer at CNBC put DL at the top of the list, even over AK, and spent a few minutes on why DL was the top. It's called revenue generation. The debt pay down is in full effect, and having a $1.37 billion QUARTER should mean something is going well. That also means they can afford to try new things, and that can't be good for the rest. But, if you're not concerned, maybe your management isn't either. Okay then.......


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[BILL LUMBERG]

Easy GL...

We lost 2 BILLION (Dr. Evil's voice) in a quarter once. It can happen again.

 

[moochild11]

Ok general..we are all very concerned..happy now?

 

[moochild11]

I guess when us air American goes through you'll be running scared..being they'll be bigger and all

 

[Mea25000]

I didn't realize the great Kramer had spoken. With his track record I guess us Alaskan pilots should just pack it in. DAL is without question now the biggest, brightest, and best. There will be no questioning your utter domination from now on. I am so sorry I missed that lightning round.