lots of laurel resting happening in this thread

 

next is my CEO can beat up your CEO.

 

Let's get it on!

 

I recommend many of the commentators here give a listen to airlines confidential podcast once in a while. Some really good high level airline talk. Will also talk about how difficult mergers are to get through.

On the topic of mergers I recommend a listen to freakonomics episode 625 “The Biden Policy Trump hasn’t Touched.” It’s talking to Lina Kahn the former FTC chair and how Trump has continued the policy of stopping mergers in markets controlled by a small group. Essentially it appears that approving mergers is not going to be readily accepted. Or so it seems so far.

TLDR: mergers in an industry with small number of competitors aren’t likely to get merger approval. If Spirit and JetBlue can’t get approval, I see no way they let United get bigger.

United does appear to be gaining ground and Delta does need to step back and get back its control of our own operation, I’ve noticed drift out there, I’m sure you all have as well.

 

The recent “issues” resulting in a few cancellations and disruptions in EWR (at least as they will be framed by UAL) are going to be the basis of a spin campaign faulting the FAA, playing the victim, and trying to justify a jet blue merger.

Mind you, it’s all ops normal for EWR. But Kirby will try to change the narrative and leverage it to get back into “real” NYC.

 

What's currently going on in EWR is definitely not 'ops normal'.

 

with a sh!tty culture , it’s inevitable.

At some point, Delta will be just another case study in a long line of once-good businesses that are essentially houses of cards that collapse under a cult-of-personality toxic culture, an inbred managment team, and insufferable cooperate arrogance.

Bastian has installed sycophants and unqualified personnel at every level. Whether to prop up DEI initiatives or to protect his fiefdom, he has hollowed out any hope of long-term viability. He does not prioritize mentorship, period. He is totally uninterested in finding the most qualified people for upper and middle management. Just look at the clowns who get promoted up and down the flight ops structure. Now extrapolate that to every department.

Delta’s chickens will come home to roost and it won’t take long after Bastian retires as CEO before Delta is the next AA. He’ll bail out the moment it all starts falling apart.

The only question is whether he has built generational wealth, or p!ssed it all away on drunk wives, flight attendant baby mammas, and ****ty shoes.

Time for one last stock buyback to juice his equity.

I just hope I can get one more selfie with “Ed.”

/rant

 

Mildly applicable video from Wendover.

 

Uh, they are paid for that's why. So any flight we make with them fuel becomes are general largest cost. Also, we are not using our ERs to fly to the high value in demand cities. For those destinations we are using the 330/350. Both are very fine airplanes and very good product, much better than polaris. We use our older jets for niche destinations and we make money on that. I know you don't work here, but if you did you'd get how we vary our fleets usage based on demand. We are very flexible in that regard.

 

Just a little friction that a simple crypto “investment” could fix …