Virgin America hangs as its hedge fund owners get antsy

[bluesideup340]

Look up C.R.A.F. This will help you understand.

AAAAH the national security argument:
We Need US Carriers for National Security
On 3 April 2003, Speaker Dennis Hastert used this argument to defend Congress' $3.2 billion airline aid plan. He said '[it is necessary that] we don't have a whole industry collapse at a time when maybe we need it most' (referring, presumably, to the Iraqi conflict).
It is true that there is a program (the CRAF - Civil Reserve Air Fleet) whereby US airlines hire planes to the military when needed, giving the military additional airlift capacity. But this program would apply equally to any US based, US incorporated airline, no matter where the shareholders were based.
A US corporation is bound by US laws, no matter who or where its shareholders are based.
Furthermore, the US airlines are generously remunerated in return for their military charters, indeed some recent study suggested it would be cheaper and better if the US government simply tendered for charters on the open market!

Also, we are a day late and a dollar short to worry about how foreign money will, or for that matter does, shape our national interests abroad.

China already financed our war in Iraq and has us by the family jewels. So let us be real, China or any other Nation that hold portion of our national deficit or has large ecomonic interest in the US does not need CRAF to influence US foreign realtionship. How about the last cash infusion to CitiBank from the UAE to the tune of 9.5Bill? Do you think we should be worried about that too. The current international recession illustrates the interconnection between us and the rest of the world and this will not change because we are hanging on to some some outdated law. Foreign ownership has worked well for other industries and is needed in a global market.

 

[Shrek]

VA is toast.

 

[jayme]

Brit...even though you bring up one of a myriad of good points, you are wasting your time trying to help these folks understand.

OK, so the one point that was brought up was well refuted. What are some others? I'm not asking you to spend a lot of energy here. You wrote more in this response than I'm asking for. Just a couple sentences on why "

Originally Posted by Chief Pilot
There would be nothing worse for this entire industry than letting Branson break through our foreign ownership laws.

US pilots are no longer the highest paid pilots in the industry. It seems to me that if protectionist barriers to labor come down, American pilots would be asked to fly point to point in Europe - we'd be the cheap imported labor!

 

[goodgig]

VA is toast.

Source?

Or opinion?

 

[Ralph Cramden]

VA is toast.

Disagree.

This is just Chairman Oberstar's opening salvo on the Open Skies II talks soon to start. The VA hearings request came one day after the EU minister sent him a warning on US protectionism.

This should be interesting, to say the least. No foreign investment and no liberalization of flying rights between EU and US sounds good, but I bet DL & CAL will be crying when they get kicked out of LHR. UA could use some fresh investor cash as well.

Not taking bets on the OSII talks. That is a wild card.

 

[Fubijaakr]

BWAHAHAHA!!!!

You actually think the success or failure of Virgin America has any bearing on Open Skies?

You are delusional.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

US Maritime industry, anything larger than a tugboat is operated by a Liberian company.
Your job will go the same way as the sailors who spoke english.
But go ahead and think that you will be flying your 737 around europe, you can for Nigerian scale wages.
PBR

 

[jayme]

Captaining an airliner is not the same as crewing an ocean vessel. Further, we are talking about foreign investment, not foreign airlines operating point-to-point within the US.

 

[flyipilot]

Captaining an airliner is not the same as crewing an ocean vessel. Further, we are talking about foreign investment, not foreign airlines operating point-to-point within the US.

Well, since you brought it up....Who is doing the investing? A British company. The only US investors pulled out with a nice return. That is the last any US person, company, or bank will see any return on this investment. (unless VA gets another US investor) So, at the present time, Branson and Virgin Company get all the money or return on theor investment. The US is out of it. I guess that is o.k. since they are pouring in all the needed cash to stop the bleeding everyday.

It is just a foreign company doing business in a foreign land. Time for someone in the uS to go start an airline in England. Oh wait, they would not allow that. I forgot.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

Captaining an airliner is not the same as crewing an ocean vessel. Further, we are talking about foreign investment, not foreign airlines operating point-to-point within the US.

Its not huh? The progression is slow but steady, Convicted felon Ted Stevens let the camels nose under the tent flap.
PBR