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Old 01-26-2018 | 08:09 AM
  #194296  
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Big E 757
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Joined: Nov 2013
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From: A320 Left seat
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Originally Posted by JamesBond
Yeah but this isn't really about parachutes I don't think. On a cursory look, UAL appears to be somewhat of a dumpster fire with the influx of LCCs into their hubs. (One of my FAs and other pilots are from DEN and they say the terminals there are a who's who of other airlines)

A couple of years ago Hauenstein talked to the LCPs and was scratching his head over what UAL was doing in DEN. He said back then that that hub was structured all wrong. I guess maybe he was right.

But regardless, and I haven't gotten deep into the details yet on this, but UAL has apparently put out pretty ugly guidance going forward. This seems to be an act of desperation (not really the word I want to use) that UAL has announced i significant increase in capacity. Idiotic.

I have been reading the comments on some of the financial sites this morning about this and it seems most of those folks believe DAL is being unfairly punished for this lunacy, but it is that rising tide thing I guess.

So I guess the question begs is, is UAL in any significant trouble here or is this just a blip? I would have wagered that AAL with that crushing debt would be the first to revisit financial woes, but maybe UAL is going to be the one.

And one more thing to think about. There are 3 US major carriers, and 3 ME carriers (loaded with cash). The next dance?

I'd love to hear some opinions on this.
I would be asking myself, “Where is UAL adding this capacity?” Are they going to add capacity on routes that Frontier, Southwest, and Spirit currently fly or are adding? If so, combatting ULCC growth in one or more of their hubs could pay dividends down the road. Otherwise, if they are just adding routes or seats on currently profitable routes, without any ancillary benefit like hindering ULCC growth, then it could be bad for them going forward.