US Airways -- In the Black, 1st Qtr 06!

[TWA Dude]

Any Chance Airbus will put a yoke on the superbus instead of a sidestick?

No. Why would they?

 

[Side Stick]

So in summary...

You invested in your own company (never a good idea since you are already drawing salary from U as well; too many eggs in one basket), the stock tanked and your 401K value decreased.

U was not able to TAKE your 401K.

Call it what you want, but in the end the U fund was worthless. They went to BK twice to take advantage of the BK rules.

True, it was my problem by rolling over some of my 401K into the U fund, but the bad management didn't help matters.

Let's forget I mentioned the 401K. Wiping out our pensions is the real issue, and it should have been illegal. At almost 50, it's tough to rebuild that.

I still get sick to my stomach when I see management get all the credit. The rules must change.

 

[BenderGonzales]

Give him a break John. He's not the ONLY one who believed the Chip Munn hysterics about how the merger was a "done deal" and we were all going to make big money when the merger took place.

Many of our fellow pilots had their 401Ks decimated when the merger fell through.

That's why we're pilots and not financial advisors. Interestingly I dont have any of my 401K in my current company, but I do participate in a stock-purchase plan and i'm given stock options and grants each year as part of my compensation ... Come to think of it, I really need to diversify...

naaaah!

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Ahhh the good old Merger days in early 2001.

"Its GONNA Happen" I would hear my USAIRways amigos say!

Then they would ask for my 747-400 AFM to "study up" cause they were gonna bump me out of me seat!

DOH! DOH! DOH!

STAPLE! STAPLE! STAPLE!

Looking back on it, what little did we all know?????

 

[FlyBoeingJets]

DOH! DOH! DOH! ????

You sound like Homer Simpson, did you know that?

 

[BenderGonzales]

Sonny,

You're absolutely right. It was a mess. I can't tell you how many people I flew with who were buying property in Denver, Honolulu, etc. They would spend hours pouring over the UAL seniority list to see what they (thought they could) hold and where. Wolf had a reputation of being the salesman. Nobody thought he would have failed in his attempt.

Realistically, had he been successful the merged company may not have survived post 09/11.

How little we knew. Airline economics (oxymoron) is so foreign to most of us. The simple laws of supply and demand are waived for yield management. Cost per ASM is dismissed in favor of outsourced labor.

For what it's worth, I too believed the merger was going to take place. I too moved some money into US Airways stock. But I was perfectly happy in PIT and had no interest in any of those fancy UAL bases or airplanes. Anything west of the Mississippi seemed like a foreign country to me and I wanted nothing to do with it. I was perfectly happy flying from Buffalo to Philly in the Douglas racer.

If only I knew then what I know now.

 

[Swaayze]

Yes, it was sad that some of those guys went 100% U stock in their 401k. What were they thinking?!

I too thought it would probably happen, but the extent of my monetary involvement was a couple of U call options. Lost a little but coulda made a lot. I also bid over to the f100 in order to maximize my chances of going to AA with the airplanes, "just in case" since I was a DFW commuter. Got word it was nixed just before going into my type ride. Bummer, but the pay was nice for the 2 months I remained with U (paid for the options I guess).

It drives me nuts that today in America it's always someone else's fault.