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Old 07-14-2014, 10:03 AM
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Default Remain calm, all is well!

Two days after joining the Star Alliance (after a multi-year "thanks but no thanks" for failed safety audits), Air India pops a motor on a 777 and returns to EWR, hard landing, blows tires. UA code on that flight.

Market is up to record levels today, all airlines up, except UA which is down 1%.

"Operational Excellence" abounds (also known as moving forward?) but all the suits are promising 3 quarters of stellar earnings in 2014.

UA reports Q2 earnings on 7/24, I guess we'll see.
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Old 07-14-2014, 10:06 AM
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Dude are you pushing my leg?
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Old 07-14-2014, 10:39 AM
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Originally Posted by CRM114 View Post
Two days after joining the Star Alliance (after a multi-year "thanks but no thanks" for failed safety audits), Air India pops a motor on a 777 and returns to EWR, hard landing, blows tires. UA code on that flight.

Market is up to record levels today, all airlines up, except UA which is down 1%.

"Operational Excellence" abounds (also known as moving forward?) but all the suits are promising 3 quarters of stellar earnings in 2014.

UA reports Q2 earnings on 7/24, I guess we'll see.
Estimates are $1.99 EPS.

For comparison we lost I think $1.38 per share Q1 vs and estimate of $1.33
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Old 07-14-2014, 06:34 PM
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Is there an obvious reason why there would be such a massive difference from one quarter to another? I have never heard anyone mention one. Did UAL pay cash for a ton of planes last quarter or pay off a billion in debt or something that would cause such a swing from negative to positive?

What's the magic accounting going on behind the scenes to cause this?
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Old 07-14-2014, 06:41 PM
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??
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Old 07-14-2014, 07:16 PM
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1st (last) and 4th quarters are always weak for US airlines. In a good year they break even. 2nd and 3rd is where they make money. DAL's and AMR's profits last quarter were astounding for a 1st quarter.
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Old 07-14-2014, 07:23 PM
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"Remain calm, all is well!" Sounds like the government.
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Old 07-14-2014, 07:23 PM
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This was written by a couple analysts today from Stifel. I choke on vomet too at the confidence in management line, but it's clear our crud results are going to result in street pressure to restructure (read shrink DEN, LAX, IAD). Sadly I think firing Jeff is not in the cards unless Carl Ichan shows up.



"United has struggled to improve its operating margin performance since it began experiencing integration and operational challenges in late 2011 which has resulted in a significant degree of margin underperformance as Delta’s profitability has improved as United’s has not. While United has outlined a strategy designed to improve its revenue performance (near-to-mid term) and cost structure (mid-to-long term), the pace at which it is able to show improvement – both on an absolute basis and relative to Delta and American Airlines – remains somewhat unclear.

In addition, we believe there are some investors who believe that United’s plans for improvement do not go far enough and that a more aggressive strategy is necessary – one that would likely revolve around a restructuring of the company’s hubs and the breadth of its domestic network. In our view, United’s management team is willing to adjust its strategy – and become more aggressive – if the underperformance continues, but would prefer not to restructure any additional hubs (beyond the de-hubbing of Cleveland) given the complexity of such efforts and the impact to headcount.

Our point, to be clear, is not to suggest that United needs an activist to force the hand of management (we have confidence in the current management team), but rather to point out that the company appears to fit the criteria of what certain activists have been looking for recently to identify opportunities."
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Old 07-14-2014, 07:36 PM
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Originally Posted by intrepidcv11 View Post
This was written by a couple analysts today from Stifel. I choke on vomet too at the confidence in management line, but it's clear our crud results are going to result in street pressure to restructure (read shrink DEN, LAX, IAD). Sadly I think firing Jeff is not in the cards unless Carl Ichan shows up.



"United has struggled to improve its operating margin performance since it began experiencing integration and operational challenges in late 2011 which has resulted in a significant degree of margin underperformance as Delta’s profitability has improved as United’s has not. While United has outlined a strategy designed to improve its revenue performance (near-to-mid term) and cost structure (mid-to-long term), the pace at which it is able to show improvement – both on an absolute basis and relative to Delta and American Airlines – remains somewhat unclear.

In addition, we believe there are some investors who believe that United’s plans for improvement do not go far enough and that a more aggressive strategy is necessary – one that would likely revolve around a restructuring of the company’s hubs and the breadth of its domestic network. In our view, United’s management team is willing to adjust its strategy – and become more aggressive – if the underperformance continues, but would prefer not to restructure any additional hubs (beyond the de-hubbing of Cleveland) given the complexity of such efforts and the impact to headcount.

Our point, to be clear, is not to suggest that United needs an activist to force the hand of management (we have confidence in the current management team), but rather to point out that the company appears to fit the criteria of what certain activists have been looking for recently to identify opportunities."
This just might be the kick in the pants to the board to fire Jeff and put somebody in that knows how to run an airline.
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Old 07-14-2014, 08:54 PM
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I have been waiting 15 years. I am glad I wasn't holding my breath.
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