You mean backwardation. Do a Google search on contango, backwardation and negative roll yield. I agree with orvil in that if you don't understand futures trading or the ETF's stay away. But you can be educated on how they work. I've been trading them for almost 3 years now and learned the hard way. i'm now up over 1000% on my trades.

Agreed. The emphasis on running an on time operation is great, but when it turns to myopic overemphasis it pays negative returns in the long run. The term "non rev" needs to be changed anyway. Employees and their families are more like "revenue generators" or "internal customers" using their earned benefits, whereas the term "non rev" makes it seem like they are just a freeloading liability to be marganialized with impunity.

Not every T minus 9 minutes to go "non rev" is there because they are lazy. Sometimes they are running to make a late connection that wasn't their fault, or stopped to help a little old lady find her way to baggage claim, etc. What if that "non rev" is commuting to work, or even going home after a long trip? What if they are on their yearly vacation, heading to Guard duty, or going to a wedding/funeral? Shutting the door in their face 10 (and yes sometimes even more) minutes before, sometimes on the last flight of the day, just to get that 10 early can cause more headaches in the long run. That shouldn't happen to a "non rev" or a paying customer but it does to both unfortunately.

Closing the door in someone's face 10 or 12 early for a paper "on time" that would have been achieved anyway and then expecting that revenue generator to care 100% about the brand doesn't mesh with reality. We have to take care of our customers and run an on time operation. We also have to take care of our employees and their families in the long term, so that they will be the ones that run the on time operation. Attitude, motivation and the assumption that you are being taken care of gets eroded when you are treated like a marginal liability.

We should take care of every customer, from the $49 super saver to the triple crown diamond tungsten medallion HVC. To do that, we have to take care of the employees that take care of them in the first place. Each employee touches and has a direct effect on more revenue per year than any one customer possibly can. Take care of your employees and they will take care of your customers. #simple

Yes, the opposite of the normal state of UVXY, a reverse in contango. But, this is an argument I had with a friend of mine, is the normal state of VIX futures always expecting higher volatility, or a function of the screwed up market we are in? I guess it really doesn't matter, as price is all that matters.

Shouldn't there be a pic of a college cheerleader's backwardation for the rest of us to follow along?

No all futures prices are normally in contango. Look at corn, oil, NG, etc. You are paying a premium to buy a commodity a future date. The normal state is in contango, but when the price of a commodity spikes you end up with backwardation, ie, the front month price is higher than the second month. Vix futures prices rarely stay in a state of backwardation for long. The spot closed under 17 today after spiking last week to over 30. I know this is confusing to some, but there is money to be made off these instruments if you are patient. I can never predict a spike in the Vix, but it always declines precipitously after a spike. Even in 2008, the Vix went from under 20 to over 60, then dropped down to 25. Here's a link to the Vix back to 1994. It never stays "spiked" NEVER.http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=%5EVIX+Interactive#

Jeez, and some guys complain about College Football talk. At least CFB you can understand and has cheerleaders. Besides, your just as likely to do better betting on CFB as you are trading in the market. ITS RIGGED! Computers trade at the speed of light, you can't. Wasn't there paper done on that a year or so ago?

The hard way.

No, hockey cheerleader backwardation. No dancing required in hockey, so hired based on just looks....
http://i60.tinypic.com/vq4l20.jpg

It's not rigged. Everyone can learn to trade in the markets. You just need to apply yourself. There are plenty of instruments that you can learn to trade profitably.

Trading VIX and it's derivatives is an advanced level of trading.