Do You Forsee More Wage Concessions To Offset Fuel

[AAStew]

Does anyone know when exactly the 777 payout is occuring? I heard October but wanted specifics. Thanx.

 

[LiveInAHotel]

Garfy,

No, I'm not going to attack you. This would be exactly what you want! I will ask these two things... How is the job search coming? How was life on the big screen? Your movie bombed, so I guess it's off to the drawing board again?

Looks like your 10:1 odds were not in your favor. Don't go to LAS anytime soon.

 

[Garfield1966]

I had 5:1 on the side for the job crack. So I did just fine.

 

[LiveInAHotel]

I had 5:1 on the side for the job crack. So I did just fine.

[post="175620"][/post]​

I hope you bet big!

You don't seem like the gambling man.

 

[Wretched Wrench]

Continental has decided to stop paying into their pension fund. Can AA be far behind? That would be a lot easier that trying for more concessions.

Continental skips pension payment
Airline seeks to conserve cash with soaring fuel costs
By Matt Andrejczak, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 6:02 PM ET Sept. 3, 2004

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Continental Airlines will skip contributions to
its pension plan this year to conserve its cash as soaring fuel prices
hobble carriers.

Houston-based Continental (CAL: news, chart, profile) said late Friday it is
exercising its option under federal legislation that allows it to suspend
contributions during economically difficult times. High fuel costs and
financial woes in the industry drove its decision, the airline said.
"Using the relief afforded by the Pension Funding Equity Act is the prudent
course of action," a Continental representative said.
Congress passed the act last spring to help lift the airline and steel
industries through these turbulent times. Right now, Continental has the
smallest pension obligation of the big six U.S. carriers, according to a
recent Bear Stearns research report.
The carrier had a required minimum payment of $17 million due this year. It
had originally planned to contribute $250 million to maintain the plan's
funding at 90 percent of its current liability. At the end of 2003,
Continental's pension plan was underfunded by $1 billion, the Bear Stearns
report noted.
Pension contributions are a hot-button issue for airlines following the
recent decision of United Airlines (UALAQ: news, chart, profile) to suspend
its payments while it remains in bankruptcy. US Airways (UAIR: news, chart,
profile) and Delta (DAL: news, chart, profile) are also looking at changes
to their pension plans as they seek to avoid bankruptcy.
By electing to not make pension payments, Continental expects to achieve an
unrestricted cash balance of $1.5 billion at year's end. The airline ended
the June 30 quarter with unrestricted cash of about $1.7 billion.
Analysts say surging oil costs are expected to burn the unrestricted cash
reserves of airlines this year.
Shares of Continental closed Friday down 13 cents at $9.57.

 

[AAmech]

AA has alreay used the new law to reduce their pension payments.

 

[jimntx]

Continental has decided to stop paying into their pension fund. Can AA be far behind? That would be a lot easier that trying for more concessions.

[post="175793"][/post]​

Not completely true. CO has postponed the payment which is an action allowed to them. If they don't pay it at the end of the postponement, the money they owed is taxable by the IRS, and there are late penalties to pay also.

That's the rub with the UAL payments. They evidently want to eliminate the payment and not pay the interest and penalties from the payments they didn't make last year that were due this year.

CO has been very good to their employees over the past few years. I don't think this latest move is an attempt to all of a sudden go back to the Lorenzo days. Since 9/11, CO has not furloughed any of their represented employees. They have some on voluntary furlough, but no involuntary. And, their flight attendants at top of scale are making more than the AA flight attendants at top of scale.

 

[Garfield1966]

Since 9/11, CO has not furloughed any of their represented employees. They have some on voluntary furlough, but no involuntary.

[post="175984"][/post]​

I though I read somewhere that they are going to lay offf about 500 folks.

 

[Wretched Wrench]

Not completely true. CO has postponed the payment which is an action allowed to them. If they don't pay it at the end of the postponement, the money they owed is taxable by the IRS, and there are late penalties to pay also.

That's the rub with the UAL payments. They evidently want to eliminate the payment and not pay the interest and penalties from the payments they didn't make last year that were due this year.

[post="175984"][/post]​

Jim, technically, you are correct. But, I suspect that "postponement" is the first stage of "not paying" PERIOD.

Can AA be far behind? Remember, these decisions are made by guys who have a protected slush fund pension plan, and who are granted several retirement credit years for every ONE year worked, just like Carty.

 

[LiveInAHotel]

I though I read somewhere that they are going to lay offf about 500 folks.

[post="176018"][/post]​

Until it happens, don't believe the HYPE!

 

[FA Mikey]

I though I read somewhere that they are going to lay offf about 500 folks.

[post="176018"][/post]​

article continental to layoff

 

[jimntx]

I though I read somewhere that they are going to lay offf about 500 folks.

[post="176018"][/post]​

FA Mikey has posted link here on the thread to the article. Note that it says management and clerical personnel. They are not "represented" employees. What I meant was that they have not layed off a single pilot, f/a, mechanic, or anyone else represented by a union. They do have some people on voluntary furlough (what we call overage leaves), but no one has been involuntarily furloughed. You can forget the Lorenzo days at Continental. There are EXCELLENT labor relations at Continental today. The employees, for the most part, love Bethune, and believe that he has their best interest at heart.

Jim, technically, you are correct. But, I suspect that "postponement" is the first stage of "not paying" PERIOD.

Can AA be far behind? Remember, these decisions are made by guys who have a protected slush fund pension plan, and who are granted several retirement credit years for every ONE year worked, just like Carty.

[post="176210"][/post]​

Well, you can assume that if AA/UAL/US Airways did it, everyone else will or has done it. Or, you can go with the facts. Continental (post-Frank Lorenzo) has gone out of its way to establish and maintain good employee relations.

Remember the twice-yearly drawings for a free fully equipped Ford Explorer? CO gave away 6 of those babies twice a year. Perfect attendance for the last 6 months was all it took to get your name in the pot.

There has never been even a hint of a SERP-type fund at CO. Remember, even if they don't tell the employees at such plans, they have to tell the SEC. The reason, Carty and company were anxious to get the RPA in place by 01APR03 was that the deadline for filing the financials with the SEC was 15APR03. How we found out about the SERP was through the public posting of the 10Q by the SEC. If there were such a plan at CO it would be known about by now.

Not every big company is run by crooks and liars.

 

[jimntx]

Does anyone know when exactly the 777 payout is occuring? I heard October but wanted specifics. Thanx.

[post="175365"][/post]​

The payout will occur on 15OCT04. I'm assuming that it will come as a separate check to eligible flight attendants.

FWIW, I do not think that there is going to be a mass exodus of senior flight attendants as some seem to think. Why would they? If they still enjoy what they are doing, can fly just about any line they want, and only have to do 2 trips a month to make their minimum 35 hours/mo for benefits, what's the rush? There are at least 2 more years to go before the reduced pay rates of the RPA would affect the pension payments of any of them.

 

[LiveInAHotel]

The payout will occur on 15OCT04. I'm assuming that it will come as a separate check to eligible flight attendants.

FWIW, I do not think that there is going to be a mass exodus of senior flight attendants as some seem to think. Why would they? If they still enjoy what they are doing, can fly just about any line they want, and only have to do 2 trips a month to make their minimum 35 hours/mo for benefits, what's the rush? There are at least 2 more years to go before the reduced pay rates of the RPA would affect the pension payments of any of them.

[post="176375"][/post]​

jimntx...

You will have to wait and see! It may or may not happen now because WAArdo is gone. I think us senior f/a's were just sick of WAArdo and just wanted out because we were tired of his bull**it, like Garfield1966!

 

[mjk]

I seriously doubt anyone's retirement date was influenced by who was president of their union at the time.