Southwest Furloughs..

[Jetjockey]

Both extreme ends of the spectrum suck. Most of us reside somewhere in the middle.

 

[BrazPilot]

SWA isn't going to furlough. They will grow a little, when Spirit goes under.

And what makes you think Spirit will go under? They seem like the only ones making money in this environment.
Let's see...they are looking for suitable A320's to place into service ASAP. The CEO himself in recurrent said they regret having returned the 7 319's and they are actively looking for more Airbuses with the right configuration.
Spirit has...

30 A320's on order for 2011 (not canceled, just deferred).
7 undisclosed Airbus orders (A330's ??)
More destinations have been added...especially in Latin America.
Planes are almost always full.
Our business plan is break even at $120 barrel of oil.

I don't think Spirit is going anywhere soon...

 

[McNugget]

Spirit will be gone by 2010. Airlines grow and take deliveries...right before they tank. Par for the course. I hope the pilot group enjoys financing "The CEO" with their pitiful wages.

 

[maxblast72]

Not that I want to see Airtran go down and I most definately think that Spirit along with VA are on life support but using management presented data is nothing more than wishful thinking and speculation.

Consider Airtran lucky compared to Delta who are dumping 33% of their international flying to meet demand.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ae?s=AAI

That is a link for what 8-10 financial analysts are predicting for Airtran for 2009 and 2010. Sub $1.50/gallon Jet A prices, $90 average ticket prices, and $100+ million in baggage fee revenues will make 2009 a good year for Airtran and most LCC carriers.

Demand for $90 tickets will not be hit as hard as demand for the $1000+ tickets that are the real money makers at the legacies.

 

[kwick]

Not that I want to see Airtran go down and I most definately think that Spirit along with VA are on life support but using management presented data is nothing more than wishful thinking and speculation.

Consider Airtran lucky compared to Delta who are dumping 33% of their international flying to meet demand.

According to Moody article last week, the four airlines listed as being close to defaulting on their debt, and being on "Life Support", were Jet Blue ,US Air, UAL and AA.

 

[huncowboy]

Spirit will be gone by 2010. Airlines grow and take deliveries...right before they tank. Par for the course. I hope the pilot group enjoys financing "The CEO" with their pitiful wages.

You were funnier posting under EMBskillz or whatever it was. This is kind of dry. Back then, that was very obvious still very funny. What did it say "amraam , amraam" under profile? And that paste/copy fighter pilot into the E170.

And what was the other one? Something to do with Gulfstream Academy. That was with very poor English. That was my favorite. I can't remember the username. It got taken off in record time LOL. Everyone went for it too.

I am wondering if those threads are still around. I would love to read them again for some good laughs.

 

[BrazPilot]

Spirit will be gone by 2010. Airlines grow and take deliveries...right before they tank. Par for the course. I hope the pilot group enjoys financing "The CEO" with their pitiful wages.

Aren't you that dude that got rejected by Spirit twice? All that bitterness figures...

 

[nightfr8er]

My wife heard on the news in Dallas last week that SWA will cut an additional 4% from the system capacity this year. Is this the truth or distorted facts on TV news? have you guys heard anything about this? Or is there any news on hiring this year?

 

[Yuppyguppy]

According to Moody article last week, the four airlines listed as being close to defaulting on their debt, and being on "Life Support", were Jet Blue ,US Air, UAL and AA.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=MY&Date=20090310&ID=9681580&Symbol=AMR

 

[maxblast72]

My wife heard on the news in Dallas last week that SWA will cut an additional 4% from the system capacity this year. Is this the truth or distorted facts on TV news? have you guys heard anything about this? Or is there any news on hiring this year?

Southwest has been saying for a few months that 2009 ASMs will be 4% less than 2008 ASMs.

 

[Mike man]

Spirit will be gone by 2010. Airlines grow and take deliveries...right before they tank. Par for the course. I hope the pilot group enjoys financing "The CEO" with their pitiful wages.

McNugget...Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

[clickclickboom]

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ae?s=AAI

That is a link for what 8-10 financial analysts are predicting for Airtran for 2009 and 2010. Sub $1.50/gallon Jet A prices, $90 average ticket prices, and $100+ million in baggage fee revenues will make 2009 a good year for Airtran and most LCC carriers.

Demand for $90 tickets will not be hit as hard as demand for the $1000+ tickets that are the real money makers at the legacies.

I hope they do make a profit but statements like that are usually to drive the stock price

 

[Tejas-Jet]

<<Red Dog, just curious, what does 100 trips for pay correspond to in block hrs on average if you had to guess. Do you know what Southwest average block per pilot was for 2008?>>


MaxBlast,

It is hard for me to describe how the TFP works unless I could show you my month and break down each and every pairing I have flown.

But...my strategy is....I put my entire line in "give-away" the minute I get it.

Then I look for the pairings that pay high but block low. i.e. 13.6 pay/3.5 block ( but I'll admit those are rare).

I also take from reserves...both assigned trips and just plain old reserve blocks of days. Weekdays are best.

In February....I know a guy that got 122 TFP and 34 hrs block...just by sitting reserve on weekdays ( not getting called) and picking up on weekends. But FEb is always like that. Bet he doesn't bid a reserve line again until September or October.

the good stuff is out there...one just has to look for it...and be ready to go.

On the other hand....if one is happy with their line...they can just fly that too.

 

[maxblast72]

Tejas-Jet,

Thanks for the info. It must be nice to have to flexibility to make as much as want for a few months and then enjoy 17-18 days off for the next few months if you want to.

Do you guys get a certain TFP value assigned to a reserve period even if you don't get called? I am assuming that lineholders can pick up reserve periods on their days off and reserves can pick up trips on their days off?

 

[RedDogC130]

Reserve lines are guaranteed at 90 trip credits per month.