If you find comedy in me getting spun on this, then that is fine. I'm glad I was able to provide you with some entertainment. Fact is that I'm glad you don't take scope lightly, and ridculous rumor or not I will always let my reps know how I feel about this issue. I want to hear what they think. I want to feel confident that this would be a deal breaker. I want to know that they want this flying at mainline.

Thanks for your input.

 

Trust but verify is good when dealing with respect to statements made by the subject. It's a little more dicey when you're the source of the theories, then asking the party you presume to be guilty to prove their innocence.

 

It seems that someone is listening or monitoring this board. We p&m about the reserve system and not understanding it and low and behold, an ALPA email about said system. It's very informative and helpful. Much easier to read than just the straight contract. Kudos to Mr. Lightyear.

 

In that case, can we go back to the old red & blue wings? I loathe the new citgo gas logo

 

As a North guy, I have to say that I agree with you on the wings. The blue and red version had a more "classic" look to it...

 

Agree about Hugo Chavez's oil company's logo. Since they only gave us one pair and the new ones are a special order item, I pulled the original Widget out for the shirt, since I don't put on the jacket for the walk around or run up the jetway for coffee. No one has said a word about it. Changing out the hat logo would probably get some unwanted attention, but as long as they are not going to provide a second set, I think going with the retro wings on the shirt is all win.

 

Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- American Airlines and TPG offered to invest as much as $1.1 billion in Japan Airlines Corp., double the size of a bid led by Delta Air Lines Inc.

The deal would also generate additional benefits worth $700 million to JAL over 10 years, American Chief Financial Officer Tom Horton told reporters in Tokyo today. He didn’t say how the investment would be broken down and declined to comment on possible financial backing from airline partners in Oneworld.

The offer surpasses the $500 million of equity that Delta and SkyTeam carriers offered to buy as part of a $1 billion package that also included loans and sales guarantees. Delta and American, the world’s biggest carriers, are battling over unprofitable JAL as the U.S. and Japan discuss easing restrictions on flights between the two countries.

“There is no reason for JAL to turn to Delta now that American has made a bigger offer,” said Yasuhiro Matsumoto, an analyst in Tokyo at Shinsei Securities Co. “JAL may have to wait until it has gone through its restructuring before the investment. That could take six months to a year.”

JAL spokeswoman Sze Hunn Yap said no decision has been made on whether to stay with American and declined to comment on the package. TPG spokesman Kozo Iino confirmed that the company is prepared to invest in JAL.

U.S. and Japanese officials will resume talks next week on an “open skies” agreement. Delta anticipates an accord being reached in the coming weeks, President Edward Bastian said today at a separate briefing in Tokyo.

Antitrust Immunity

AMR Corp.’s American said that a Delta-JAL alliance would be unlikely to win regulatory approval as it would give SkyTeam carriers a 62 percent share on U.S.-Japan routes. At present, Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance each have about a third of the market, it said.

“With JAL in SkyTeam, that balance is shattered,” Horton said.

Jeff Shane, a lawyer advising Delta, earlier said at the carrier’s briefing that there was “no question that JAL and Delta would satisfy the requirements” for antitrust immunity.

Star Alliance member All Nippon Airways Co. has said that it will likely seek a similar agreement with partners Continental Airlines Inc. and UAL Corp.’s United Air Lines Inc.

SkyTeam Offer

SkyTeam’s JAL offer, made public on Nov. 18, included a $500 million investment from the group’s airlines. Delta would put up $200 million in financing and $300 million to cover lost sales. Delta would also support a third party joining the investment, Bastian said today.

“We believe SkyTeam is the strongest possible partner for JAL,” he said.

JAL closed unchanged at 92 yen in Tokyo trading today. It has plummeted 57 percent this year, the biggest decliner on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average.

JAL is seeking new investment and government support as it tries to stave off collapse. The carrier has said it needed to borrow $1.4 billion by the end of March to survive. It reached a loan agreement Nov. 24 for an undisclosed sum from the state- owned Development Bank of Japan.

The carrier now gets as much as $500 million in annual revenue from its Oneworld partners, American reiterated. Alliance carriers including British Airways Plc have offered to boost cooperation with JAL to keep it in the group, Oneworld said today.

American-JAL

American’s current accord with JAL allows joint bookings and revenue sharing on select flights. American’s two-letter airline code is on JAL flights from Tokyo to five U.S. cities and 15 Pacific destinations, and from Osaka to Honolulu. JAL’s code is on American flights between four U.S. cities and Tokyo.

“It would be a big problem for American if they lost JAL,” said Haruo Ushiba, chief analyst at Japan Aviation Management Research. “Their own network across the Pacific is very small.”

AMR has shored up its balance sheet by about $5 billion since September with steps including the sale of frequent-flier miles to credit-card partner Citigroup Inc. for $1 billion and $1.9 billion in jet financing and a loan from a General Electric Co. unit.

TPG, the firm founded by David Bonderman, would seek an equity stake in JAL in exchange for a cash infusion, a person familiar with the talks has said. The Fort Worth-based firm needs approval from Japan’s government and JAL to study the carrier’s financial records and join in the restructuring.

Bonderman would bring experience in working with troubled carriers, including helping return then-bankrupt Continental to profit in the early 1990s.

Last Updated: December 3, 2009 03:02 EST


---
10:57PM 02DEC09

TOKYO (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines said on Thursday that teaming up with a third party to support struggling Japan Airlines Corp, which is seeking a state bailout, was one option.
Delta Airlines President Edward Bastian also told reporters in Tokyo that Delta and its SkyTeam partners would be happy to offer more than the previously announced $1 billion of financial support for JAL by teaming up with a third-party investor such as a private equity fund or venture capital firm.

"We are putting our capital at risk, not someone else's capital ... I think that's important. However, if the (Japanese) government asks us to go back and raise more capital, we are happy to do so," Bastian told Reuters on the sidelines of the news conference.

Bastian said, however, that the airline has not received such a request at this moment.

Delta said on November 18 that SkyTeam member carriers were ready to offer $1 billion, including a $500 million equity investment, in return for JAL defecting from the Oneworld alliance and its partnership with American Airlines.

 

Overhead in the offices of TPG Capital:

~ I loved it at 40, it's an insult at 50. They're analysts, they don't know preferred stock from livestock, alright? When it hits south, we raise the sperm count on the deal.~

~ Showdowns bore me, Larry. Nobody wins. You can have the company. In fact, its gonna be fun watching you and your giant ego try and make a horse race out of it.~

~ Every battle is won before it's ever fought. Think about it.~

The movie Wall Street was good entertainment and a overly simplistic view of the slash and burn cost cutting which propels "deals" ahead of focusing on the fundamentals of running the business. In this case we have a traditionally expansionist government that is again behind the eight ball looking for resources to prop up a failing industry.

I wish government would "get in" or "get out." Either they need to nationalize, regulate and support us ~ or ~ butt out and let the market decide who survives.

 

For one, I'm glad we all have the opportunity to get spun up about the EMB-195 rumor. For me, it serves two purposes: 1) it get the issue out there and psuh the pilot group to ask specific questions to our reps who in turn learn where some of us stand on issues and 2) even a slight rumor can turn into reality.

LOAs are fine - as long as they aren't done in secret in a back room. I really dislike getting a memo from the MEC saying, "look at what's we're negotiated to help us all", when it was something that most people didn't want and no one asked us (I'm looking at you, Non-Flying Lines).

Buzz can say up and down that NFLs didn't replace SILs, but since we've have NFLs, how many SILs have there been? Cause and effect... I learned that in 1st grade science class when we watered the bean plants.

 

I got two seats of free wings. Perhaps I was just lucky. You do however know that you are not required to wear the wings or nametag on the shirt if you are wearing the coat. Saves ruining tthe lining of your coat.