The bulletin I posted was from a memo on the 18th. I should have referenced a specific date, rather than simply stating 'last week.' The article you posted clearly is dated the 19th. I'm assuming that's why you felt the need to highlight the sentence regarding confidentiality agreements. Yes, a real shocker. To think that you would insinuate that our management would tell us anything but the truth is just reprehensible.

 

Nah, I was aware that your info was fairly new but not fresh from the rumor mill. No intent to dis you or your management. I wonder how much quibbling they were doing with that statement though - were conversations held between intermediaries?
It looks like UAL management is playing with USAirways management to try and bring CAL to the table. ... just my guess. I don't know where they plan on finding the investment capital - I'm guessing that someone would be tossing ~$2B down the drain on a merge. However, I'd think that it'd be easier to find investment capital with CAL as UAL's partner rather than U.
Someone dumped ~$1.5B into DAL/NWA; probably Air France. I don't know if UAL's got an investor lined up or not. Tilton's been pretty good with Wall Street contacts, and $2B is less than the debt that UAL paid down last year.

Dude, I don't want a merge any more than you. But with DAL/NWA, CAL's likely to find themselves frozen out of SkyTeam. Less SkyTeam bookings mean less international growth.
Let's hope that if it does happen, it isn't the royal clusterfukc that has occurred on the last several mergers.

 

I know you weren't 'dissing' and I was being sarcastic with my closing sentence on that one. I've been through this sort of junk before, and just like you, I'm sure we'll finally get the truth one morning when we open up our USA Today after picking it up off the floor of the hotel hallway. Besides, I live in IAD. That's my silver-lining. Yep, that's the best I can come up with.

 

Here's UAL's numbers, worse than forecast:

CHICAGO, April 22, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UAL Corporation (Nasdaq: UAUA - News), the holding company whose primary subsidiary is United Airlines, reported a pre-tax loss of $542 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008, $305 million higher than the first quarter of 2007, driven primarily by a $618 million increase in consolidated fuel expense. For the quarter, the company:

-- Reported basic and diluted loss per share (EPS) of $(4.45).


http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080422/aqtu012.html?.v=48


Note that they're parking additional aircraft. Cash on hand went down significantly.

 

Wow did I read that correctly that CAL and UAL have the same amount of cash? I know there are tons of RJ's that need to be parked before one mainline A/C, but you have those pesky 70 seaters to worry about. We may merge but I think the financial landscape has changed, UAL cannot continue to bleed cash.

Good luck to us all.

 

UAL has ~$400M more than CAL. But CAL's cash on hand is better based on percentage of revenues.

 

Thanks Andy, this is by far the worst I have seen the airlines, and I don't think mergers are the answer.

 

There are many furloughed pilots in this industry. Picking up open time keeps them from getting hired.

 

Fair statement that UAL's worsening performance increases the likelihood of us remaining independent? Discuss....

 

I think that will be the case. Kellner is no dummy - on the contrary he runs a good ship at CAL. He's said numerous times he has multiple strategies for CAL on the horizon. Even if there was a confidentiality agreement signed - which so far has only been reported on by a "someone knew someone" in the media - it probably had stipulations on how UAL performed 1st quarter.