Ottopilot

Negative attitude? What does my attitude have to do with anything? Does the company make decisions based on my attitude? Name one merger that created jobs for pilots.

pipe

I realize it was a grammatical error - but you'd better hope Tilton changes a lot!

PIPE

EMBFlyer

Pardon the ignorance (it's late and it could be the sangria talking), but I'm afraid I don't quite follow. Is this a good or bad thing for XJT?

SUPERfluf

Fortunately, it doesn't look like he'll have too much to do with operations if the leaks are correct.

Non-executive Chairman: Chairman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Non-executive

A non-executive Chairman of the Board is and does the following:

• A part-time officeholder who sits on and chairs the main board of a company.
• Provides support and advice to a CEO.
• This position usually entails fulfilling a similar function on a number of additional board committees, as well as being a political figurehead of the Company.

SUPERfluf

I'm guessing that it was sarcasm. No one who wants to acutally be able to retire invests in airline stocks.

ToiletDuck

lol I meant from a customer standpoint. As a paying customer I've appreciated CAL's service, clean aircraft, and performance for many years. Larger serving size drinks, sandwiches, etc. CAL's been very good to me and my family. Since joining the airlines I've never non-revved on UAL and don't know what their setup is. I hope my parents will still be able to enjoy the benefits. With the sister having 2yr old triplets there's been a lot of running back and forth by the family to help out when/where they can. I don't know anything about UAL's work rules etc. so no comment I've just had a very pleasant passenger oriented relationship with CAL and hope that tradition continues

Captain Bligh

Not sarcasm at all, but my theory is rather complex and requires some speculation, maybe even a few logical leaps of the quantum nature, (at $4 a share, one can afford to speculate) so, if you have time, here's a few dumbed down high points of my assumptions and a few of the reasons I plan to continue to acquire XJT stock:

1) Regardless of the retention of the name "United" or the color of the paint on the airplanes, CAL management will be installed almost immediately in this new company. 24 months from Monday, the product at the new company will look and feel a lot more like CAL than UAL. This is what the board members and stockholders want, ROI. Slim, variable staffing, horrendous work rule impositions, elimination of a whole lot of duplication, waste, etc... will be key to making this unlikely marriage work from a balance sheet perspective.

2) CAL has been grooming, growing and has recently installed a much larger group of flight ops management pilots in all of the bases, in just the past few months. Far more managers than have been traditionally needed to keep the CAL pilots "in line". Once the go ahead is given, these positions and people that have recently been "created", will be re-dispatched to all of the bases with authority to "Continentalize" the new company. Like blowing into a petri dish of anthrax spores, CAL managers will be propagated upon the new system.

3) Scope limits, particularly the 50 seat RJ limit at CAL will become a thing of the past either through negotiation or assumption of the less restrictive UAL scope. Given CAL's tight father/son relationship with XJT and XJT's familiarity with the current CAL product, XJT will be the most likely candidate for a huge ASM growth through new, cheaper to operate on a CASM basis equipment. Fred and his entourage of yes men have been spouting these and more 3 and 4 letter industry acronyms at every minimally attended crew room road show of late. These aren't just facts for the CAL managers, they are how they quantify P&L. They believe in the numbers. Those numbers must rattle around in Fred's brain like neutrons in a nuclear reactor, because he can quote them for every sector of the industry with amazing accuracy. In addition to knowing the numbers, these managers have been schooled in how to realign people to meet or beat the numbers, which ultimately translates to profit.

4) SEC and 401(k) rules probably limit most of us from taking huge positions on either CAL or UAL stock, but not so with XJT so, I plan to speculate, acquire and watch. I see a 12 month price target of over $11/share for XJT with the current fleet size and trading multiple. Double or triple the capacity with new planes and a better CPA? Maybe $20.

Zoomie

You sound like a management staff pilot for a few reasons:

1) You attempt to measure pilots expectations by assuming scope will go towards the less-restrictive UAL scope.

2) You are dreaming that all CAL managers will replace all UA managers and even assume current UA operational managers will get removed and replaced with a matriculated CAL manager.

3) It never made sense CAL added more staff when there are less pilots. Sounds like you're privy to more information than the avg Joe.

4) Last time I checked, no CAL or UA pilot has ever signed anything that limits the amount of CAL or UA stock they can buy/short. If YOU have signed such an agreement, you certainly shouldn't be posting on a forum such as this as you would be subject to legal action by the statement you just made.

5) You know a little too much about "Fred and his entourage".

Making such silly statements as "matter of fact" as you are is really strange.

Good luck when your management job get's replaced by a UA manager and you have to return to the line and actually fly with the pilots you have kept "in line".

LuvJockey

That's interesting - I didn't think that the new company could just "assume" parts of either contract. Anybody else have a take on CAL/UAL guys just rolling over on scope?

Beagle Pilot

Not rolling over, but it's not going to be a cakewalk either. There are many realities to consider such as the evolution of the industry in a post-deregulation world, cabotage, survival of the airlines in an increasingly competitive environment coupled with a desire by employees to preserve pay and benefits.

My guess is it will go to an arbitrator who will "split the baby" in terms of comparing both scope clauses. It will be a little tighter than UAL's but not as tight as CAL's. IIRC, 40% of UAL's flying is outsourced while CAL's is less than 30%. A Solomon decision by an arbitrator would see it at around 35%.