Instead or reading through what this idiot Excargodog keeps posting links to (like we don’t know that interest rates are on the rise) I think I’ll listen to our CFO instead.

Q. Can you refinance your debt with interest rates rising?

A. We’re in really good shape that we don’t have any debt that has come due. We paid off the $750 million unsecured (senior notes that matured in June). Our next big payment is a $1.2 billion term loan (for work at Reagan National and LaGuardia airports) that comes due at the end of next year. The second thing we have to do is finance aircraft. Every aircraft we have is financed through the end of the third quarter. We’re working hard to finance the back half of the year, and there are a lot of good proposals out there, even in a rising interest environment.

Q. Where do you find sources for financing planes?

A. We can do commercial banks. We can do market EETCs (publicly traded securities called enhanced equipment trust certificates). The market for EETCs is open still right now. It’s probably at 100 or 200 basis points bigger than what we have done in the past, but that’s still very attractive financing in this environment.

Q. Is an equity raise on the table?

A. It is not on the table right now. We have enough liquidity to make it through any downturn.

Q. What about share repurchases when the prohibition (a condition of federal pandemic aid) expires Sept. 30?

A. There is no plan to do any share repurchases. All of our excess liquidity will go to pay off debt.

Q. How would a recession change how you manage American’s finances?

A. If it does impact revenues, we would hold on to liquidity longer than than we have. It doesn’t mean that we’re not going to hit our $15 billion number (the target for debt reduction by the end of 2025). It might mean that we don’t accelerate paydown of that debt. But I’m fully confident with the liquidity we have at $15.6 billion that if there is a recessionary environment, that we will be able to withstand anything like that.