Originally Posted by
threeighteen
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.
Negotiations will be tough....they're ALWAYS tough with this mgmt. We're already leading the industry with our current contract, so big gains were pretty unlikely from the git-go (unless of course those Delta boys can "take it back" but that's sounding less and less likely if the chatter on L&G is to be believed). AA's pilots about to take it in the shorts is not going to be helpful either. But I don't see this aircraft order being as big a hammer as you apparently do. They need new airplanes very soon and every new one will save a buttload of (increasingly expensive) fuel over it's life vs. the aircraft it is replacing.