XJT bid for airtran

[catIIIc]

I know Skywest is going to buy Airtran. I know this because our CEO talked once about the B717. Or how about this one the B717 was seen in St. George Utah, so we have to be recieving them. HA HA tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Whatever you hear do not believe. Before the UAL- UsAir announcement everyone was talking about UAL and AWA merging, and when AA bought TWA no one had a clue. Everything that happens in this industry along the lines of buyouts or mergers happen all of sudden with no lead in announcements or press leaks. Just stand by and wait.

Makes for good discussions though

Take Care

 

[Ty Webb]

What is the deal with your "experience" with AWAC? Were there problems? Did passengers complain about not riding on a 717?

I don't know about that . . . but our management found that we could operate the 717 on the same routes for only a little more money, with over twice the seats to sell. If you want to know the nuts and bolts of it, you can listen to the webcast of the 4th Q earnings conference, where they discuss it in detail.

Also, the dispatch reliablilty/completion factor was nowhere near the 99.6% we have with the 717, which resulted in more cancelled flights and p.o.'d pax.

I will be sorry to see the Air Wisconsin guys go, because they are a great bunch of guys (and gals). I rode the jumpseat plenty, and enjoyed meeting all of them. Hope this doesn't screw things up too much for you; especially those who may have moved to ATL (shudder).

 

[Stifler's Mom]

Thanks Ty, see you around Ramps 4 and 5.

 

[atldc9]

A more true measure of the cost of buying a publicly traded company is referred to as its' ENTERPRISE VALUE. It can be found roughly by adding market cap plus balance sheet debt minus current assets.

For Airtran, that would be roughly:

Market Cap $1 billion
Balance sheet debt $250 million
Current Assets(mostly cash) $390 million

Enterprise value =$860 million

Obviously this is an approximation, but you get the point. We have too much cash in relation to our market cap, which makes us an attractive buyout target. The company knows this as well, and is probably going to pay cash for the 1st 2 737's as a result. That way, you move the cash into fixed assets, but the amounts stay on the ballance sheet as an asset.

I hope the buyout possiblility doesn't happen.

 

[Ty Webb]

Thanks for tying it up in a neater package (market cap + balance sheet info).

Our Enterprise value is about $50 million more than XJT.

As for all that free cash floating around, if it is causing a problem for them, they can just send it on over, Rover.

 

[Fly-By-Cable]

If I remember correctly AirTran tried very hard to obtain all this cash thru out the 2003. Joe mentioned in one of his web casts, that it's good to have all this cash on hands in case some opportunities present them self in a near future. (like sell out at US Airways). He also mention that they could always pay cash for some 737s. And like Ty said if all that cash will cause them all these problems...Contract 2005 is just around the corner.
And as someone already said here, true merger or buyout information of a public company will not leakout.

 

[CatfishVT9]

AirTran- CRJ divorce

The word put out at my AirTran Interview yesterday is that the partnership worked well, but they had many complaints about not having a business class. That was a major factor in the decision.

Catfish

 

[Ty Webb]

Les,

In all of your posts on this board, I have yet to read one that is insightful, informative, or entertaining. In short, you add nothing to this board, and you seem to be a very negative person.

It is sad that someone who supposedly has such a great job can be such a bitter and unhappy person.

Maybe you should look into your company's E.A.P.

Regards,

TW

PS., I have a great deal of sympathy for furloughees; however, each person is an individual, and being a furloughee doesn't mean that they should be coddled or held to a different standard.

 

[Steeler Fan]

Les

Who do you fly 767s for?


Which "pond" are you flying over and where are you based?

 

[FLB717]

Les never states who he works for. Only that he is a real pilot flying a big airplane for a real airline. But I doubt MS Flight Sim counts.