Carl, you are one funny man. I am sure that you threat asses everything out. I see that as what we are doing here. The whole exercise will come down to risk assessment for each and every pilot. If the deal comes out as purported/rumored, I have my hunches that this board will probably vote NO, but the Lion's share of pilots will not be as quick to decide. The threat of JV's are real. The threat to the NRT hub is real. You can minimize the shortcomings in Section 1 all you want, but that does not diminish them. Carl; you just need to make sure the majority of pilots are willing to err on the side of more risk. Nothing more nothing less. Many will not. (FWIW, I am still not convinced this will pass the Reps much less MEMRAT)


On wetting my pants; lets not start the insults back and forth. It is just not constructive.

I will be watching the market today seeing how everyone reacts. Grabbing my popcorn ...

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...8NaIYG5SRW84EQ

Vertical integration, cash flow dynamics, jargon.... synergy.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...QWv5F-csw1_zig

That was the best presentation I've ever heard - DO IT.

Seriously - Good Luck. Interesting move.

They seem to be happy so far......

Delta Refinery Deal All About Southwest - Seeking Alpha

Delta Airlines' (DAL) agreement to buy a ConocoPhilips (COP) refinery in Pennsylvania is all about Southwest Air (LUV).

Delta's ongoing battle with Southwest is about costs. Delta's hub-and-spoke system is inherently less efficient than Southwest's network of short flights that just go back-and-forth. But because Southwest has now been around for a generation and accepted unions, while Delta has always pushed back against workers, it may actually have an advantage in labor costs.

The deal is for a refinery near Philadelphia, plus pipelines and other assets that reach its New York hubs. There are $30 million in government incentives on the deal, and Delta has already made deals with BP and Phillips for sourcing oil and selling products other than jet fuel.

Delta figures it can handle 80% of its U.S. jet fuel needs through the deal, saving up to $300 million/year. Put those savings onto its bottom line and profits rise 15%.

While the bet carries risks, the bigger risk may have been not pulling the trigger. There were no other bidders on the property, which could have shut down, meaning a net increase in Delta's fuel costs. Now, in theory, it has the kind of cost advantage on profitable East Coast routes.

Quietly, Delta has been on kind of a tear in its growing competition with Southwest, which entered Delta's home market of Atlanta just this year. Since the start of the year the stock is up by a third, while LUV is flat. Last year Delta had a net income of $854 million on revenues of $31.28 billion, against net of $178 million on $14.87 million in revenue for Southwest. So a few more pennies on each dollar are already flowing to Delta's bottom line than its rival's.

There remains one big problem for Delta. Its fleet averages 15.9 years in age, against 12.1 years for Southwest. The two airliners' fleets are becoming increasingly similar, however. Southwest flies Boeing 737s almost exclusively, and Delta ordered 100 of those same planes to replace its aging DC-9s, among the oldest planes in the air.

So Delta has competitive labor costs, lower fuel costs, and a compatible fleet. I have to head to Houston next week, and even with the single bag charge Delta's price is slightly below the Southwest "gotta get away" fare.

This just got interesting.

The SLI has shrunk by 323 pilots since Sept 2010. Any other junior guys excited by the rumor of the early retirement tied to the TA and hiring rumors? I'm holding off filling out a FED EX application

OH EM GEEEEE


I agree with Carl.

Getting a call by Fedex these days are still no small feat, I wouldn't just base on some rumors and change your tactics, if you've already decided to fill out the Fedex apps. It's always nice to have options.

They will have to make up new jargon for Delta. What do you call a company that vertically integrates, then outsources its core product?

Found a picture of a Dog in a Delta Terminal staring at the departure sign, looking for a flight operated by Delta. He barks when he finds a Delta flight, wait for it:

Here's <--- an interesting article. I don't think the writer did much research, but it is an interesting spin. I actually think it is more about UCal than SWA. Right now it is over $11, but I really don't expect to see much of a bump.. yet.

Edit: That article was already posted a couple posts down.

Tornadic???