Originally Posted by dalad

All so true, the stock buy back is already yesterday's news. If they had spent a fraction of the money on supertugs for every hub, and a replacement for the MD-80's it would have been $ well spent. RA and his minions aren't looking so smart anymore. Blowing billions on stockbuybacks and fuel hedges to go along with a now questionable refinery purchase. It's starting to look like RA and the boys are only interested in lining their pockets long term. If they wanted to reduce the stock float why not do a reverse 2 for 1 or 4 for 1 split? I know, Wall Street would hate that but the effect would be only temporary as all things are.

Originally Posted by Sink r8

You can't tell from the last pages of APC, of course, but this is theoretically about the pilots making decisions.

Originally Posted by Carl Spackler

Your analysis is spot on except for the reasoning. It has nothing to do with goodwill. Everyone knows there's almost no such thing as long term investors anymore. Institutionals and hedge funds are very short term oriented. This buy back is NOTHING MORE than management using internally generated cash to buy stock as needed to ensure their stock options can be exercised at a profit after the lock-up date. It's a pure personal enrichment play.



If the health of the company was their main focus, they would use these funds as you've suggested above.



Carl

Originally Posted by dtfl

Go back and read my post where I spoke to my rep. It WAS DN....he is for keeping SLOA, 23G, etc, etc.

Originally Posted by EdGrimley

We agree, it is about pilots making decisions for their compensation, quality of life and family. Pushback is mounting in preparation for a C2012 type rushed deal with concessions followed by a full court press sales job lacking accurate pro/con paper. If the union intends to put out a sub par TA and sell the he11 out of it, the membership is preparing themselves to abort the abomination before it gains traction, as they should.

Originally Posted by Sink r8

A full-blown sales-job AGAINST a TA that hasn't even been reached today, has been underway for weeks. It's obvious, it reeks, and it's expensive to all of us.

Originally Posted by Sink r8

Step 1: elect Carl's friends
Step 2: doesn't matter.

This is a power struggle. The TA is an inconsequential backdrop for the guys who want to be in charge. It's been going on for over 11,000 posts, +/- some excellent underboob. DPA, C2012, whatever:

it's. a. power. struggle.

You can take just about any situation going several years back, and interchange the posts: they all say the same thing.

The real questions are 1) can the guys actually doing the work can get the best outcome possible with Carl's friends rehearsing speeches in front of the mirror instead of studying the information, and unable to make actual decisions, 2) do the guys actually doing the work have the right read on the situation, and 3) is there really a deal to be had early that works for the Delta pilots?

Oh, and if you're, say, a Delta pilot waiting to express your view via a vote, or looking for an exchange of perspectives on specifics, sit down in the back of the room, and try to keep your mouth shut, so as not to interrupt the power struggle. Carl will tell you how to vote.

Originally Posted by Sink r8

Step 1: elect Carl's friends
Step 2: doesn't matter.

Originally Posted by Sink r8

I'll go along with this. With Leo, the mechanism for enrichment was making compensation tied to cash on hand. Now, it's the stock price. AFAIK it just happens to be the metric that best correlates to executive compensation. So THEIR Step 1: compensate executives, Step 2: compensate Wall Street.

I don't think there is really any confusion on this. Of course, it has nothing to do with a TA. OUR Step 1 involves our family, and pilot group. We have no legal way to prevent stock buybacks.

We DO have the ability to think for ourselves, and decide whether therecan be a deal that allows multiple Step 1's to be satisfied.

You can't tell from the last pages of APC, of course, but this is theoretically about the pilots making decisions.

Originally Posted by Purple Drank

Well, Carl doesn't have any friends, so that's out.