Gonna do a drive by here..... Is our "demanding" improvements really good for "constructive engagement" with management? I know what I did with my kids when they "demanded" something because they think they deserved it.... Better to show how they would be better off giving us what we want...
Agree with the rest of your post.
Denny
Just to stoke the fire, if your kids sit around the house and don't do anything, does your mortgage still get paid?
It's interesting that the parties objecting to the DIP terms are equity holders, evidently not creditors themselves.
It's also interesting to think about the AMR case. I wonder if the arrangements made between three members of the creditors' committee, and a company not currently auhtorized to offer a competing business plan, are also a way to diadvantage creditors in general, at the expense of creditors in general.
There must be a problem in one of thses two cases, not sure which.
Let's not underestimate the power of the internet to allow more people to analyze whatever comes out of this contract. Between e-mail, twitter, facebook, SMS, cheap desktop spreadsheet software for amateur analysts, publicly available 10-K etc. data, and we are much more able to get to the bottom line than in the past. It is much harder for DALPA to put a XXX page document in the v-file and have little to no additional information. I'm not saying it isn't possible to get screwed on this contract I'm just saying it's a lot harder to "sneak" things by. Also, I have faith in a 1 CA, 2 F/O NC since every F/O I know is major stagnated (20+ year upgrades to CA unless you want to be an M88 CA on reserve in NYC).
Dalpa puts out a lot more then a document on the contract. On every contract I have been involved with they put out a contract highlights package shortly after signing. Then they put out actual contract language prior to voting. About the same time they put out a extensive often section by section explanation of the contract. Then they put on a series of road shows at the major bases and geographic centers where pilots live. There are also concurrent MEC meetings ongoing where normally the negotiating team will show up for a question and answer. The road shows are also made available as a webcast.
Afer all that 1/3 of the pilot group will complain they did not get any information before voting. Another 1/3 will complain the MEC did a sell job on the TA. The last 1/3 will say contract? Are we in negotiations?
P.S. The MEC had better not bring me any contract for a vote unless they can stand up confidently and sell the contract as the best deal for Delta pilots and their families. If they can't do that then it should not even be released for a vote with one exception. There are situations where putting a bad contract to a vote can be a useful political tool to show pilot resolve. In that case it should simply be put before the pilot group with the understanding its not endorsed by the MEC. That has not happened at Delta yet.
Delta reported a first quarter 2012 loss of $39 million, or 5 cents a share. These results represent year-over-year improvement when compared to last year’s Q1 loss of $318 million, as stronger revenue this year helped overcome higher fuel prices.
On a before-tax basis, Delta improved its 1Q performance by $355 million despite paying $250 million more for jet fuel than the same period of 2011. The performance bodes well for the current quarter and full year, Richard said in a release today.
“Our March quarter improvement in results and operations are further evidence of the building momentum we have as a company and I want to thank Delta employees worldwide for the hard work that produced these results,” Richard said in the release.
“By staying true to our plan – increasing revenues, keeping disciplined with costs, capacity and capital, running a great operation and taking care of our employees and customers - we expect the June quarter and full year will be not only solidly profitable but also another significant improvement over last year despite higher fuel prices,” he continued.
Delta’s total revenue continues to be the big driver of its improved financials. Revenue increased 9% on the strength of strong corporate travel, broad demand across all regions and the company’s commitment to remain disciplined about capacity.
“As a company, we’ve made tremendous progress in building a durable business model, which can generate profits during good years as well as bad,” said Paul Jacobson, s.v.p.-Finance and chief financial officer, in a memo to employees Wednesday. “We have more work to do, but I’m confident that we have the dedication and focus to reach our goals.”
The strong operational performance – which yielded employees $22 million in Shared Rewards – helped improve earnings and continues to help attract business fliers. Delta’s March unit revenue increase of 14 percent over last year gives it 12 consecutive months of outperforming the industry revenue average.
The airline continued to lower its total net debt, having cut nearly $5 billion in the past two years to reach $12.2 at the end of Q1. Delta should reach the $10 billion net debt level by next year as it continues to de-lever its balance sheet. Delta also funded all its 2012 pension obligations in April, well ahead of schedule.*
It took a while, but I found one written in english:
(RTTNews) - Delta Air Lines (DAL: News ) posted first-quarter GAAP net income, including a $163 million gain from special items, of $124 million or $0.15 per share, versus a loss of $318 million or $0.38 per share last year. Excluding special items, Delta's net loss for March 2012 quarter was $39 million, or $0.05 per share, the company added. On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected loss per share of $0.05 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Quarterly total operating revenue was $8.41 billion, a 9% increase from $7.75 billion in the prior-year quarter, whereas 9 analysts estimated revenues of $8.36 billion for the quarter. Despite lower capacity, traffic increased 1% as load factor increased 3.3 points to 79.7%.
Looking forward to the second quarter, the company projects operating margin of 8% - 10% and capital expenditures of $400 million.
Dalpa puts out a lot more then a document on the contract. On every contract I have been involved with they put out a contract highlights package shortly after signing. Then they put out actual contract language prior to voting. About the same time they put out a extensive often section by section explanation of the contract. Then they put on a series of road shows at the major bases and geographic centers where pilots live. There are also concurrent MEC meetings ongoing where normally the negotiating team will show up for a question and answer. The road shows are also made available as a webcast.
Afer all that 1/3 of the pilot group will complain they did not get any information before voting. Another 1/3 will complain the MEC did a sell job on the TA. The last 1/3 will say contract? Are we in negotiations?
P.S. The MEC had better not bring me any contract for a vote unless they can stand up confidently and sell the contract as the best deal for Delta pilots and their families. If they can't do that then it should not even be released for a vote with one exception. There are situations where putting a bad contract to a vote can be a useful political tool to show pilot resolve. In that case it should simply be put before the pilot group with the understanding its not endorsed by the MEC. That has not happened at Delta yet.
Sailing,
In essence, isn't that what the AirTran folks did on their First shot at the SLI.....or is that an apple to an orange ?
Fuel hedges are bets on the price movement of products such as oil and gasoline. They help airlines smooth out the ups and downs of jet fuel purchases. Keep in mind that Delta's first-quarter gains are paper profits. They could turn to losses before the hedging contracts close.
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