Thx FalconHerc! You are a scholar and a gentleman! Wish I was home now, it'd be WILD!

Denny

Not much of a game but I'll take it! Go Hawks!!!

FANTASTIC day for the Seahawks! A bit of a dry spell since 1979 (basketball world champs). It's a young team....could be back for more:)

Ditto Denny Congratulations.

No, I didn't know what you were referring to. That being said, I may may be over sensitive to hearing "paid ALPA volunteer" far too often. While there may be some in ALPA that are abusing their position, the vast majority just do their work quietly, and on their own time.

For the many of you that expressed thanks, I appreciate it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/03/bu...=business&_r=0

Airline Sets Deadline on Talks With Alitalia

After reviewing Alitalia’s books for more than a month, Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi said on Sunday that it was in serious negotiations over a possible investment in the troubled Italian airline, and it set a 30-day deadline to wrap up a deal.

In a brief joint statement, which came as Italy’s prime minister, Enrico Letta, was on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, the two airlines said their discussions had entered “the final phase” and that they would try to devise a common strategy in the coming weeks.

“Any issues that may prevent the establishment of an appropriate business plan will have to be resolved to ensure the plan can be implemented to move Alitalia to sustainable profitability,” the airlines said, without elaborating on the remaining sticking points.

Alitalia’s “issues” are not inconsequential, nor is the size of the investment the airline is seeking — as much as 300 million euros, or $405 million, according to people with knowledge of the discussions who requested anonymity because the talks were not complete.

Over the last five years, Alitalia has cut costs, renegotiated contracts with workers and suppliers, and shed noncore assets. But Italy’s grinding economic crisis, rising fuel costs and heightened competition from more nimble low-cost rivals have largely overwhelmed the carrier’s turnaround efforts.

Negotiations with Alitalia’s previous strategic partner, Air France-KLM, over a cash injection of a similar size broke down in November after the Italian government and Alitalia’s creditors balked at the French-Dutch airline’s conditions for a deal, including a large write-down of Alitalia’s nearly €1 billion in debt. Air France, which at the time owned 25 percent of Alitalia, ultimately opted out of a subsequent rights issue, which lowered its stake to 7 percent.

Air France-KLM’s finances are much more constrained than those of Etihad, which is wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates. Air France-KLM is in the midst of a deep restructuring, involving more than 5,000 job cuts.

Etihad, the fastest growing of the three major Persian Gulf carriers, has spent more than $1 billion over the last three years buying equity stakes and lending cash to half a dozen struggling airlines on three continents.

In Europe, Etihad’s holdings include a 29 percent stake in Air Berlin of Germany; 49 percent of Serbia’s national carrier, Air Serbia; and a 3 percent stake in Aer Lingus of Ireland. Late last year, it took a one-third stake in Darwin Airlines, a tiny Swiss carrier, and rebranded it Etihad Regional.

Analysts said Etihad’s interest in Alitalia, as with its other partners, appeared to be primarily aimed at securing a fresh feed of passengers into its network of 94 destinations in 45 countries. Etihad’s annual traffic has grown by 42 percent in the last two years, to nearly 12 million passengers; it says one-fifth of its revenue is generated by its equity partners.

But some worried that an investment in Alitalia would be fraught with risk.

“You can make an allowance for all of the other assets they have acquired because those were mostly small, niche players,” said Saj Ahmad, chief analyst for StrategicAero Research in London. “But Alitalia is in the thick of the mix in Europe, surrounded by competition on all sides. Even if the sticker price is low, it’s the cost that comes after it.”

In an interview last year, James Hogan, the chief executive of Etihad, emphasized that all of Etihad’s airline investments had to meet strict criteria for revenue generation and cost savings.

“We don’t invest for the sake of it’s the nice thing to do,” Mr. Hogan said. “Unless we believe we can make it work long term, we’re not going to step in.”

Found this to be an interesting development....

Looks like Etihad is making some bold moves. I think this is more a move against Skyteam than industry market maneuvering. I'm sure it will raise some eyebrows down in ATL.

The way I figure, these middle eastern carriers can only invest in struggling carriers for so long. Furthermore, if Etihad invests in Alitalia and pulls them out of the Skyteam alliance, then perhaps that will translate into growth for us.

Even those on full trip drop pay work far harder and more days then anyone flying the line.

Yes, it is.

Or perhaps it means a reduction for us. Intra-Europe "domestic style" feed is valuable for filling DAL seats across the Atlantic out of Italian cities.

I don't want Etihad using AZ "domestic/intraeurope" feed to fill Etihad jets utilizing openskies/5th freedom loopholes in their subsidized, government owned airline model to compete against DAL who will have lost the additional feed from AZ. (cue Gloopy with a descriptive, adjective laden commentary on MEA's)

Also, if AZ is removed from the TAJV, it will go a long way towards correcting the imbalance that is causing the Delta pilots to be on the short side of the production balance.

I see it as a setback for DAL for revenue generation and a setback for Delta pilots because our "half" of transatlantic flying will come from a smaller pie.


Personally, I'd rather see DAL take one year of dividend/stock repurchase money from the shareholders and come in with a Virgin-like 49% ownership stake, moving to stop insidious MEA expansion and securing a strong presence in southern Europe.

This story continues to be interestng because our Trans Atlantic JV's measurement period is nearly here and with AZ code, the Company is in breach of our PWA, triggering a one year cure. If AZ code leaves the JV, then the Company's three years of non compliance vanishes.

Those who watch the sceduled EASK metrics indicate the Company has no plans to cure the contractual breach. That suggests perhaps management knows something we do not.

AZ burns about a Billion a year. They have debt obligations the Italian government does not want to address. In today's World it may not be possible for every nation to have a flag carrier.