Originally Posted by BigGuns

Were not you hired after BK? Just say'n! ;-)

Originally Posted by sailingfun

Delta has involved themselves in the process because it is to their advantage to do so. That does not mean they actually want to buy American. Interjecting themselves in the process accomplishes many things. The most important might be that it gives them a look at the inner workings of AMR and what their route network really generates in terms of revenue ect.. As a potential buyer you get a inside look at the books. You also will have some clout in what AMR in the end has to offer the creditors. You drive up AMR's costs.

Originally Posted by 80ktsClamp

And I thought WN's retirement picture looked bad- check out B6.

Originally Posted by Eck4Life

True, but they are getting a lot of a/c which will accelerate things substantially. I just had a friend hired there and it won't surprise me a bit if he has the opportunity to upgrade before I do at DAL despite the fact that I've been here for a few years.

Originally Posted by PilotFrog

Well to gain the same amount of annual compensation he will have to upgrade. 6 yr CAPT pay on the 190 is the same as 6 yr FO pay on the 330/767-400 just to compare a little.
And at jetBlue when you make Capt don't you go to to year 1 again? Not sure about that just wondering.

Originally Posted by sailingfun

Delta has involved themselves in the process because it is to their advantage to do so. That does not mean they actually want to buy American. Interjecting themselves in the process accomplishes many things. The most important might be that it gives them a look at the inner workings of AMR and what their route network really generates in terms of revenue ect.. As a potential buyer you get a inside look at the books. You also will have some clout in what AMR in the end has to offer the creditors. You drive up AMR's costs.
Delta and American have done this to each other for years. It started when Crandell jumped into the PanAm process and ran the price up a extra billion dollars for Delta. Delta repaid American in kind doing the same thing in the JAL process. It would have been stupid for Delta to stay on the sidelines in this one. They now will be in a position to influence the outcome and cost structure of a major competitor and get a inside look at where the airline makes the most money.
I don't however think it will result in a purchase of any AMR assets.

Originally Posted by alfaromeo

The central problem for American is the gap that has developed between them and DAL and UAL. This year AMR will lose $1.2 billion. DAL and UAL will profit $1.2 billion (about). That is a $2.4 billion gap.

American spends about $900 million a year in interest. Most of that debt is secured by aircraft and most of those aircraft are their newest aircraft. Let's be generous and say that American can rid themselves of 20% of their debt. That saves them $180 million per year. They still have $2 billion hole to fill to get to DAL and UAL. The pilot contract is about $1 billion. If the pilots work for FREE, they are now a breakeven airline. Most of the rest of the employees would have to take 50% pay cuts in order to reach the level of profitability of DAL and UAL.

So we know that the pilots aren't going to work for free and the other employees are not taking 50% pay cuts. So what is the path to a profitable AMR? They have to get much bigger, or they have to get much much smaller, or they have to fragment. The traditional paths in Chapter 11 will not fix American's problems.

That is why people see American as in play. They can't cut their debt down without ridding themselves of their newer aircraft and they can't cut their employees to any degree to make themselves profitable. Whatever pilots wish or don't wish, American has a central problem with revenue generation right now and bankruptcy can't fix that.

Originally Posted by BigGuns

Were not you hired after BK? Just say'n! ;-)