sailingfun

I doubt your fixed cost to revenue model is anything like a airline. I also doubt you have used the equity markets to raise capital.

airlinepilot50

You have little respect for the pilot profession. Take early retirement and go away.

sailingfun

If Delta had stashed away 15 billion and a corporate raider had showed up and gutted the airline we would have a bunch of threads on here about how incredibly stupid management was to allow that much cash on hand and get bought out.

JoePatroni

I’m fairly certain you’re dead wrong and pretty sure he has the scars to prove it.

airlinepilot50

He has a history of commenting negatively towards regional pilots. We all have different experiences and scars in this industry. Everyone deserves equal respect.

NotMrNiceGuy

There are four major airlines. The US government will not let a corporate raider shell out a company that makes up 25% of the market. I hate the phrase, but they are too big to fail.

TWA and Icahn are a bad example. TWA was nowhere near the financial position of the present day big four.

The whole point about the buybacks is that there was an opportunity cost to them. They could have used that for a rainy day (or to improve employee compensation). They chose the buybacks. You can’t deny they chose wrongly given the present situation.

Airline profit margin is just too thin when bad times come along as they inevitably do.

Sixty N Two

Wrong, respect is earned. You sir are WAY short in your earnings quota. And you’re not alone!

You’re either a scared little kid or a troll. Either way, I do not and will not respect any person of your ilk who continuously opens their trap to spew stupidity or negativity. You’re not the only one on here with this affliction and it’s too bad because there is a great deal of constructive dialogue and useful information to be gleaned here.

Unfortunately I have to sift through yours and others infantile playground arguments to find it. Go clog up guard!

MaxQ

I believe the catalyst for both of our original posts was the view that a company being prudent and stockpiling cash made them a target of corporate raiders. My view is that it shouldn't be legal to leverage a company with it's own assets to turn it overnight into a "corporate pauper". It is harmful to the country, and depending on the size of the company, large numbers of individuals. Since rules/legislation of that sort are unlikely to happen my suggestion, similar to yours, was to give what would be used to buy back stock to the employees. I assert that they are the ones who have made this extra money.

Did the hedge funds, or any other stock owner, make any of this money? No.
How much did they invest in the company? (Unless they, or any other stockholder, bought their shares directly from the company)....ZERO.
They are merely trading in stock as the price shuttles up or down. "They" haven't "made" a damn thing in regards the company they now own a slice of. No purchase of any assets have been made from their buying of stock.
From the companies operational and fiscal performance standpoint, what the stock price does after the initial issuance of a share of stock is immaterial.

As owners, a strong argument can be made that this extra should be paid to them. I don't really disagree with that. However, that's not how we have set this up. The closest we come to it is when a company pays dividends. It is a fraction of what the profits, of the magnitude we are talking, really are. Plus, if your money is in an "investment" firm, you don't get the cash anyway.
In short, profits are not distributed to the owners but rather used in whatever fashion a small group sees fit. Which may include stock buybacks as a form of stock price manipulation.

Ok..I have rambled enough. One thing I have noticed on this message board (the only one I visit) is that many posts come across as shallow. I suspect that is so because it takes too much space to add more depth and all sorts of information that is relevant, plus formative philosophies regarding said information. I certainly know it applies to most of what I post. I try to keep that in mind when I read what others post so as to soften my judgements. My success in that varies.
Stay safe.

Andy

… and yet a scumbag vulture operation, Apollo Global Management, bought $2B of United collateralized debt. They did that to have leverage on the creditors committee should United declare chap 11, allowing them to control quite a bit of United's fate if United declares chap 11. And any action they take will be legal. So too big to fail doesn't apply with respect to rich corporate raiders.

Fifi

doesn’t Apollo own either a controlling position or all of Sun Country?