Shrinking Envoy by 47% is not as easy as it sounds.

The labor cost structure depends on a certain amount of pilots making the lowest wages to offset the pilots that make the highest wages.

From Unions and Airlines

Consider two regional airlines where new pilots earn $20,000 per year and pilots who've been with the airline for 20 years earn $80,000 per year. Airline A and Airline B fly the same types of planes, have exactly the same cost structure, and have the same percentage of junior versus senior pilots. Suppose now that a fluctuation in demand causes Airline A to have slightly fewer customers and Airline B to have slightly more customers. Airline A will have to furlough a few pilots and Airline B will hire a few.

Airline A would naturally like to furlough its most senior pilots, the ones costing $80,000 per year, or perhaps cut all pilots' monthly hours slightly. Union agreements, however, force it to furlough the most junior pilots. Airline A is thus left with a pilot group that, on average, has more years with the airline than before and therefore has a higher average cost. Airline B, by contrast, just hired a bunch of new pilots and is paying them just $20,000 per year. This means that Airline B's average cost for a pilot is lower than before. Airline B can now move into Airline A's region and offer lower fares. Customers start choosing Airline B over Airline A and the furloughing and hiring intensify.

Union agreements add positive feedback to an already unstable industry. An airline that is successful and growing will enjoy lower costs because of the new pilots being hired for almost nothing. An airline that is shrinking will see its labor costs spike as nearly all flights are operated by highly paid senior crews.

a la Comair

Based on approx 2000 or 90%, it doesn't sound like a reduction in manpower would be an issue. It sounds more like the reduction at Eagle will almost take care of itself over the next 5+yrs through flow/attrition.

Despite what the company is saying, I don't believe they can or will furlough. Downgrades do not seem likely either, as we're losing 20 CA a month to AA alone, that's not counting anyone leaving for other jobs.

Well, you do have someone's talking points down.

Clinton did NOT have anywhere close to a balanced budget,,, until Newt and his 'Contract with America' took over. Look it up.

Clinton even said himself that the budget would not be balanced, but the short lived fiscal responsibility that ended the Clinton administration was not of Clinton's doing. He was too busy putting out fires he lit with his pants down. The Republicans, not of the RINO variety which seem to be the only kind that exist today, were in charge of both houses of Congress if memory serves.

But that certainly doesn't keep Bill from trying to take credit for it.

/\THIS/\

IF Russia and China do dump the dollar in trading oil, this could trigger a bad sequence of events. The end of the petrodollar would bring all those dollars home, where they would manifest in inflation and rising interest rates. That is when things get interesting...

Six months from now could be a whole different world.

The BitCoin intrigues me. If it can recover from the Mt Gox disaster, it could be seen as a refuge or lifeboat for wealth that will otherwise be ****ed away as inflation hits double digits.

They might dump it along with everybody else when it collapses and since its the world federal reserve there will be nowhere to run.

Well, then you have no other choice than to go head long into the PMs.

Building up my gold and silver collection.

Will people voluntarily downgrade to FO or most take the displacement?