UAL Parking Planes

[Shrek]

I just talked to a friend of mine - 767 ORD FO. It's still pretty busy, so I would anticipate staffing to remain constant; no furloughs yet. He also said (and I've heard the same) that the guppy fleet was way undermanned. These cuts are not a surprise; I was expecting the guppy to be the first mainline aircraft to go.
He said that even with cutbacks, he doesn't see furloughs happening for a minimum of 12 months. Watch for liberal leave of absence programs prior to any furlough. They're able to do it in a much more controlled manner than the post-911 furloughs.

My advice to you is to make multiple furlough plans. It saved my bacon when I was furloughed for 5 years.

... and I'd be surprised if United parks those jets prior to summer flying unless they're due heavy checks.

Thanks for the response Andy - that is what I heard as well from a couple sources. Keeping my eyes open as well thanks for the advice

 

[Shrek]

So are you in training yet...what are they telling you. Still hiring as planned?

Still the same plan of around 200 this year. No change to that schedule as of today anyways. I think they were planning this all along and the anticipated passage of age 65 as well.

 

[Andy]

Hey Andy, will UAL be getting ANY new planes to cover for the ones leaving?

Bye Bye--General Lee

United has some Airbus 320 series orders, but no firm dates. They've had them since pre-911. I don't expect them to turn them into firm orders unless EADS is giving them away. United would likely dump the remaining 737-500s and possibly the 737-300s.

 

[Andy]

Still the same plan of around 200 this year. No change to that schedule as of today anyways. I think they were planning this all along and the anticipated passage of age 65 as well.

The ORD 767 FO is a 99 hire; he is on reserve. In spite of taking mil leave for 5 days in Feb, he got >75 credit hours. He lives in the ORD area and tries to avoid flying, so take that datapoint for what it's worth.
United is still extremely short on pilots; any block hour reduction could easily be offset by having lineholders fly less than FAR maximums. Unless, of course, the cuts get deep.

 

[Shrek]

The ORD 767 FO is a 99 hire; he is on reserve. In spite of taking mil leave for 5 days in Feb, he got >75 credit hours. He lives in the ORD area and tries to avoid flying, so take that datapoint for what it's worth.
United is still extremely short on pilots; any block hour reduction could easily be offset by having lineholders fly less than FAR maximums. Unless, of course, the cuts get deep.

One thing for certain is that NOTHING is certain in this industry........gotta keep flexible.

 

[UndauntedFlyer]

With the PBS, flying lines can be awarded to a minimum. It wouldn't take much to offset the cutbacks.

Since I have been furloughed twice from UAL during my career, I do know the experience. I sincerely hope there are no cutbacks. There are other ways of dealing with this situation and they can be implemented with the Union's cooperation. However, therein lies the problem, no one wants to give up anything in that "Union." At least that's the way it's been in the past.

For those with future class dates, they will most likely be cancelled so plan accordingly. I am sorry to say this.

Health insurance for those furloughed will be "pay your own Colbra" only. Do not expect your fellow pilots to chip in to help like they did before. The current membership is all for themselves it seems.

I am truely sorry to see this. But the membership will do whatever they think must be done to save themselves, which means save the company and their jobs.

 

[chppr5]

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[UndauntedFlyer]

1. ?????

United cutting back, selling planes to offset higher fuel costs

United Airlines plans to ground as many as 20 airplanes or 4 percent of its fleet and further cut capacity in 2008 to soften the blow of soaring oil prices that could add $1 billion to its fuel tab over last year.

The nation's second-largest carrier said Tuesday it will ground and sell back to lessors 15 to 20 older, narrow-body 737s that are less fuel-efficient than others in its 460-plane fleet. It did not immediately specify what domestic flights or routes could be trimmed.

The move comes with UAL Corp.'s United getting more aggressive in trying to pass on higher fuel costs to its customers. It raised ticket prices by as much as $50 per round trip last week -- an increase matched by other carriers -- and is increasingly charging passengers additional fees for some offerings, such as a premium check-in service and $25 for checking a second bag.
It remains to be seen whether that will be enough to stem the fuel cost setback without reducing its staff, as Delta announced plans for on Tuesday. Delta said it will offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees, or more than half its work force, along with cutting domestic capacity another 5 percent because of skyrocketing fuel prices.

Fuel is United's largest expense, and every $1 increase in the price of a barrel of oil boosts its costs by about $60 million. Oil prices have shot up by about $20 barrel in the last six weeks, raising United's projected 2008 costs by some $1.2 billion.

"We are taking a prudent step now by reducing our fleet, taking assets out of the network that don't make sense at these fuel prices, to better position United to be successful in an ever-challenging environment," Chief Financial Officer Jake Brace said. He outlined the changes at a conference for airline industry investors in New York.

United also is looking for other places to cut costs and said it has increased its fuel hedges since January, with 20 percent of its fuel hedged for 2008.

CEO Glenn Tilton defended the need to pass on higher costs to customers in a message to employees, noting that the economic environment has changed significantly over the past several weeks.

"Continued uncertainty about the overall U.S. economy with the price of fuel at historically high levels has put significant pressure on all U.S. carriers," he said. "U.S. airlines must function like other businesses, making investments and providing service where we can do so profitably."

United's pilots quickly issued a statement criticizing the plan, however, saying that "shrinking the airline to achieve profitability has been demonstrated to be a failed business practice."

"Cutting its fleet of airplanes does not address the larger cost problems that continue to beleaguer this airline," said Steve Wallach, head of the United branch of the Air Line Pilots Association. "Instead of doling out hundreds of million of dollars to shareholders and pocketing millions of dollars in bonuses and salary increases, perhaps management should reinvest that money into our operation."

But company spokeswoman Jean Medina disagreed with Wallach, saying that United's five-year plan calls for investing $4 billion in investment back into its business.

The pilots have stepped up criticism of United's top executives in recent months, angry that they have not gotten additional compensation since their pay was reduced sharply during the company's bankruptcy restructuring from 2002-06.

United's management remains interested in consolidation, but the run-up in fuel prices appears to have chilled that talk for now.

The company plans to announce specifics of any capacity cuts when it reports first-quarter results in late April or early May.

United shares jumped $1.66, or 7.9 percent, to $22.57 in Tuesday trading.

 

[Shrek]

With the PBS, flying lines can be awarded to a minimum. It wouldn't take much to offset the cutbacks.

Since I have been furloughed twice from UAL during my career, I do know the experience. I sincerely hope there are no cutbacks. There are other ways of dealing with this situation and they can be implemented with the Union's cooperation. However, therein lies the problem, no one wants to give up anything in that "Union." At least that's the way it's been in the past.

For those with future class dates, they will most likely be cancelled so plan accordingly. I am sorry to say this.

Health insurance for those furloughed will be "pay your own Colbra" only. Do not expect your fellow pilots to chip in to help like they did before. The current membership is all for themselves it seems.

I am truely sorry to see this. But the membership will do whatever they think must be done to save themselves, which means save the company and their jobs.

No classes have been cancelled and the plan for 200+ pilots this year is going as planned. From JAN on it is anybody's guess.

But with the latest news of 15-20 guppies being parked will not be followed by a furlough.

 

[Superpilot92]

No classes have been cancelled and the plan for 200+ pilots this year is going as planned. From JAN on it is anybody's guess.

But with the latest news of 15-20 guppies being parked will not be followed by a furlough.

a quick search of this tools posts will show you that you should just ignore his self centered posts