There will be "spectacular casualties" in the airline industry over the next 12 months, billionaire Richard Branson, the owner of Britain's No. 2 long-haul airline Virgin Atlantic, was quoted as saying on Saturday.
The U.S. airline industry - including Virgin America - has been battered by soaring fuel costs that are pinching even the healthiest airlines.
"The financial state of the world is just about the worst I've ever known it," Branson told The Times newspaper in an interview. "It's getting perilously close to being worse than the 1990s.
"You have the perfect storm - you've not only got the banking crisis and the housing crisis, you've got the soaring fuel prices as well. One of the big American carriers will almost definitely go."
1) Northwest: GONE, it is now Delta.
2 ) USAirways: Code-sharing with United. It is more like "you go here, we go there" and we park our planes next to each at the big airports so we can shift passengers around.
3) Continental: See USAirways situation.
4) American: Merges with British Airlines
5) United: Merges with Lufthansa to survive.
6) Southwest: Once their pre-negotiated oil deal is done, well the jury is out.
7) Delta: After absorbing Norhtwest and its blotted debt, see the next comment.
Once all that is done, and things still don't work out, can we say "AmAir" anyone? All 7 down to the ground.
"Fly The Friendly Skies" _________________ THE SIMPLE LIFE: One frozen pond, a few sticks, a little round puck, and a bunch of rowdy kids.
Joined: Apr 05, 2005 Posts: 2472 Location: South of Atlanta
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 11:12 pm Post subject: Re: Airline Bankruptcy/Merger/Layoffs Thread
Heres my take on what remains after the dust settles:
Delta(NWA), Continental, American, a combination or parts of United/USAirways, then Southwest, and maybe one or two low cost carriers. They will let the rest fail I believe.
The US airline industry is something on the order of 10% of GDP so I doubt the government lets it all go down, at least at first. The easiest/most cost effective way is for them to pay our fuel bill (or part of it).
The name of the game is bailout for now I think.
If the banking system fails first who knows what ensues.
If that happens then it's Katy Bar the Door! I picked the wrong industry for a career. At least it was a great job while it lasted.
Joined: May 19, 2005 Posts: 797 Location: Merry Ol' USA
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 11:59 pm Post subject: Re: Airline Bankruptcy/Merger/Layoffs Thread
AirlinePilot wrote:
Heres my take on what remains after the dust settles:
Delta(NWA), Continental, American, a combination or parts of United/USAirways, then Southwest, and maybe one or two low cost carriers. They will let the rest fail I believe.
The US airline industry is something on the order of 10% of GDP so I doubt the government lets it all go down, at least at first. The easiest/most cost effective way is for them to pay our fuel bill (or part of it).
The name of the game is bailout for now I think.
If the banking system fails first who knows what ensues.
If that happens then it's Katy Bar the Door! I picked the wrong industry for a career. At least it was a great job while it lasted.
Well, if it goes down like that I hope you at least keep your avatar _________________ After fueling up their cars, Twyman says they bowed their heads and asked God for cheaper gas.There was no immediate answer, but he says other motorists joined in and the service station owner didn't run them off.
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 3:34 pm Post subject: Re: Airline Bankruptcy/Merger/Layoffs Thread
By 2013, I think the airline industry is going to look very, very different. I didn't realize that airlines were 10% of GDP. That's a fantastic sum of money.
Update: The UAL buy out offer for IAM customer service reps and ground handlers is $500.00 per year (capped at $12,500) for any employee over age 45 with 15 or more years of service. Plus flight benefits. That's it, basically.
A 25 year employee taking a buy out would receive about the same as the UAL CEO Tilton earns every few hours. This 'system' is in bad need of serious adjustment when something as disproportionate as this is allowed to happen. _________________ Got Dharma?
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:39 am Post subject: Re: Airline Bankruptcy/Merger/Layoffs Thread
And the next one:
Quote:
MILWAUKEE — Midwest Airlines said on Monday it will reduce its work force by 1,200 people as it grounds its 12 MD-80s.
The cuts represent about 40 per cent of current staffing at Midwest and its Skyway subsidiary. Besides the MD-80s — which it is flying until this fall — Midwest also flies 25 Boeing 717s.
Boeing has received a raft of orders from Gulf states eager to capitalise on money received from soaring oil prices.
United Arab Emirates carrier Etihad Airways is to buy 35 mid-sized Boeing Dreamliner jets and 10 mid-sized Boeing 777s in a deal worth $9bn (£4.5bn).
Budget carrier FlyDubai has ordered 54 of the popular 737 planes at the Farnborough International Airshow. Meanwhile Etihad, whose new planes will begin to arrive from 2011, has said it expects to announce the purchase of up to 100 aircraft at Farnborough.
AND THEY have the fuel for em !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gasmon _________________ Constantus excrementia et level variatum
Were allways in the sh|t, its only the depth that varies
Unfortunately, (for many western airlines) YES they will. Look at Etihads website & route maps - The Hub at Abu Dhabi, alongside Dubai is about half way from Europe to Far East, China, India, Thailand & Australia. A major corridor second only to the Atlantic. They also fly Abu Dhabi to New York.
No shortage of passengers when a couple of the big boys fail.
Gasmon _________________ Constantus excrementia et level variatum
Were allways in the sh|t, its only the depth that varies
Today, I called Delta Airlines to purchase a ticket for an upcoming trip. Well, prices are more than double what I paid eleven months prior. DOUBLE.
But more interesting was the "message" I had to listen to before being transferred to an operator. (And the wait time was NINE minutes.)
While I sat there waiting for a customer service representative to come to the phone, I heard a two-minute pre-recorded diatribe on the high costs of jet fuel and how it's causing ticket prices to soar and if I want to help, I should contact government officials and demand that oil speculation be halted NOW. The airline even gave a website for "more information" on oil speculation and how it's ruining our country. I think it was "www.stopoilspeculationnow" but I'm not sure.
The pre-recorded message was the verbal equivalent of the letter sent out to the airline's frequent fliers.
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