Originally Posted by
BCDurbin
how much cash do you have to "drop" for and order on a plane that wont be here for 6 years?
A few hundred million probably. But that $17.6 billion is factored into the long term projections of the business, just like labor costs are. Labor costs are likely to go under attack before fleet renewal costs do, any day of the week.
When they come to the table, they're going to say "here are our expected budgets for the next xx years, so here's what we need from you guys." More airplanes on order = less money in the future to pay pilots. Welcome to the industry.