weasel_lips
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2006
- Posts
- 474
US Airways: No Immediate Plans To Cut More 737s From Fleet
June 06, 2008: 03:35 PM EST
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) - the last holdout in the industry's efforts to rid itself of one type of fuel-guzzling planes - said it has no immediate plans to cut more Boeing Co. (BA) 737 models from its fleet.
Flight Global's aviation blog said Friday that US Airways - the No. 7 airline by passenger traffic - is the last big player to use the less fuel-efficient Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 models. "They are not only too old, too slow and too small to make money, but in today's fuel-price environment, they're just too thirsty," the blog said.
US Airways, which leases 95% of its planes, announced plans in April to return six Boeing 737-300 aircraft upon lease expiration in 2008 and early 2009, but said it doesn't have immediate plans to remove all 81 of its 737-300 and 737-400 aircraft from its fleet.
"(Getting rid of 737s) depends on the lease agreements we have in place," said Philip Gee, a spokesperson for US Airways. "It's not always as simple as just returning a plan. A lot of it depends on the lessor."
US Airways shares were recently down 28 cents, or 6.3%, at $4.14.
JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker said US Airways' pilots' contract prevents it from shrinking its fleet as much as other airlines.
"US Airways is more dependent on 737 classics than either Continental or United are," he added. "Also - on the subject of downsizing - there are comparatively few contractual impediments for United and Continental in reducing their fleet. However, in the case of US Air, their pilot contract does stipulate a minimum fleet size to which the company is already fairly close."
Gee said the fleet can only shrink to 332 aircraft. "To make things more complicated, 19 of those planes, which are Embraer 190s, don't count against the 332 minimum number, so technically, we could go to 313," he said.
US Airways said it currently has a fleet of 357 aircraft, with 41 737-300s and 40 400s - 23% of its fleet. The company currently has no plans to lease newer- generation 737s but signed a contract last June to acquire 92 Airbus models. US Airways currently has 205 Airbus planes in its fleet and 19 Embraer 190 models.
On Thursday, Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL) - the No. 4 carrier - announced plans to retire 67 of its Boeing 737-300s and -500s, leaving it with no -300s by the end of 2009.
"Continental's greatest hedge against rising fuel is its fuel-efficient fleet, " said Continental spokesperson Julie King. "We are 35% more fuel efficient than we were 10 years ago. That's even going to get better because what we're doing is accelerating the retirement of the older, less efficient 737 classics and getting rid of a total of 73 of those."
On Wednesday, UAL Corp.'s (UAUA) United Airlines unit - the No. 2 airline - reported plans to remove a total of 100 aircraft from its mainline fleet, including all 94 of its Boeing 737s.
-By Shara Tibken, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2168; [email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 06-06-08 1535ET Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
June 06, 2008: 03:35 PM EST
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) - the last holdout in the industry's efforts to rid itself of one type of fuel-guzzling planes - said it has no immediate plans to cut more Boeing Co. (BA) 737 models from its fleet.
Flight Global's aviation blog said Friday that US Airways - the No. 7 airline by passenger traffic - is the last big player to use the less fuel-efficient Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 models. "They are not only too old, too slow and too small to make money, but in today's fuel-price environment, they're just too thirsty," the blog said.
US Airways, which leases 95% of its planes, announced plans in April to return six Boeing 737-300 aircraft upon lease expiration in 2008 and early 2009, but said it doesn't have immediate plans to remove all 81 of its 737-300 and 737-400 aircraft from its fleet.
"(Getting rid of 737s) depends on the lease agreements we have in place," said Philip Gee, a spokesperson for US Airways. "It's not always as simple as just returning a plan. A lot of it depends on the lessor."
US Airways shares were recently down 28 cents, or 6.3%, at $4.14.
JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker said US Airways' pilots' contract prevents it from shrinking its fleet as much as other airlines.
"US Airways is more dependent on 737 classics than either Continental or United are," he added. "Also - on the subject of downsizing - there are comparatively few contractual impediments for United and Continental in reducing their fleet. However, in the case of US Air, their pilot contract does stipulate a minimum fleet size to which the company is already fairly close."
Gee said the fleet can only shrink to 332 aircraft. "To make things more complicated, 19 of those planes, which are Embraer 190s, don't count against the 332 minimum number, so technically, we could go to 313," he said.
US Airways said it currently has a fleet of 357 aircraft, with 41 737-300s and 40 400s - 23% of its fleet. The company currently has no plans to lease newer- generation 737s but signed a contract last June to acquire 92 Airbus models. US Airways currently has 205 Airbus planes in its fleet and 19 Embraer 190 models.
On Thursday, Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL) - the No. 4 carrier - announced plans to retire 67 of its Boeing 737-300s and -500s, leaving it with no -300s by the end of 2009.
"Continental's greatest hedge against rising fuel is its fuel-efficient fleet, " said Continental spokesperson Julie King. "We are 35% more fuel efficient than we were 10 years ago. That's even going to get better because what we're doing is accelerating the retirement of the older, less efficient 737 classics and getting rid of a total of 73 of those."
On Wednesday, UAL Corp.'s (UAUA) United Airlines unit - the No. 2 airline - reported plans to remove a total of 100 aircraft from its mainline fleet, including all 94 of its Boeing 737s.
-By Shara Tibken, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2168; [email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires 06-06-08 1535ET Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
