Airline Pilot Central Forums - The Legacies Make A Huge Comeback

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 757Driver (Post 206098)

Can we sign you up to negotiate our next contract? NOT !!

NOT ?????
Dude, your dating yourself.....Wayne's World quotes kinda went out last century. Don't have a cow man....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green Banana (Post 206116)

NOT ?????
Dude, your dating yourself.....Wayne's World quotes kinda went out last century. Don't have a cow man....

That suit is black not....
That suit is black.....not

Borat anyone?? lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by CloudPilot57 (Post 206127)

That suit is black not....
That suit is black.....not

Borat anyone?? lol

"Vageeeenia hang low" ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAABaroowski (Post 206142)

"Vageeeenia hang low" ;)

"Like sleeve of wizard.."

Sorry, had to.

Good news the leagacies are turning things around, but there is a lot of sh%t to dig through before a pilot sees any of that. With a little creative accounting all those big numbers could disappear come CBA negotiation time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryane946 (Post 205933)

I gathered the second quarter earnings numbers for the legacy carriers and major low cost carriers. Remember that this represents only 1/4 of the entire year.

Code:

Legacy Carriers

American      $319 million dollar profit

United        $274 million dollar profit

Delta         $274 million dollar profit

Continental   $228 million dollar profit

Northwest     $273 million dollar profit

US Air        $261 million dollar profit.



Low Cost Carriers

Airtran       $41.5 million dollar profit

Alaska        $46.1 million dollar profit

Froniter      $3.5 million dollar loss

Jetblue       $21 million dollar profit

Midwest       $4.9 million dollar profit

Southwest     $278 million dollar profit

With the obvious exception of Southwest, there is a noticable trend here.

I have two points I wanted to make with this thread. One is that the legacy carriers are coming back. The post 9/11 recession is over, and the legacies are now performing.

The second point I wanted to make was with regards to contract negotiations. It kills me when I hear people talk about how wages will never come back to pre 9/11 levels. Why would you say that? The precident has already been set. That was the hard part. There seems to be this attitude floating around that if pilot wages rise, low cost carriers will further undercut their costs, drive away all their business, and throw the legacies into another recession. To that I say bull $hit! Get your wages up. Then these low cost carriers will agree to better contracts. Low cost carriers like Frontier will stop agreeing to crappy contracts like Frontier's recent one. And the cycle will continue (the upward one).

The airline industry is very connected amongst all the airlines.

If one airline raises their fares, other airlines raise their fares.
If one airline cuts their fares, others airlines cut their fares.
If one airline agrees to pay cuts, other airlines agree to paycuts.
If one airline agrees to a pay raise, ________________________.

Last thought. What do all those legacy airlines (with the exception of Delta) who made between $228 and $319 million dollars last quarter all have in common? They all pay a poverty level wage for their first year pilots (of about $30,000). It is time to take it back.

THIS IS JUST STUPID.

Does anybody invest and know how loose "public" company reporting is????

The SEC is just another blind fold.

PTP

Quote:

Originally Posted by NGINEWHOISWHAT (Post 206065)

Completely "differnet" industry all together. With the big rigs, UPS and FDX would not be the power houses they are. It's a moot point to argue if UPS was just an "airline" if their profit would stil be 410 million.

Tom

Very true. The fact is, however, that cargo pilots are the growth engine for FDX and UPS to expand. The domestic markets are tapped out and Asia is where the growth is. You can't truck stuff from China nor ship it via boat--it's too expensive.

Cargo pilots have a lot more leverage than the pax guys. Our problem is that automation will take our jobs within 20 years IMO.

Good news, however I'll wait til I see fourth quarter profits before I become too optimistic about the "comeback of the legacies."

Quote:

Originally Posted by 757Driver (Post 206098)

Can we sign you up to negotiate our next contract? NOT !!

I wouldn't have the job, but thanks for thinking about me. A few weeks ago AMR saw a spike in its stock due to some specutlation on the street about a buyout. Every pax airline is a possible Blackstone or private equity target. The landscape is changing so fast it is scary, and NONE of us could possibly predict the direction.

Tom

I could be wrong, but I wouldn't lump Alaska in with the low cost carriers....

Quote:

Originally Posted by L'il J.Seinfeld (Post 206225)

Our problem is that automation will take our jobs within 20 years IMO.

I'd agree that the technology will be there and although there are no pax on board...do those pax want airplanes flying without pilots above their houses? My guess is probably not.