Jetblue Ream rumor - Merged Topic
- Thread starter the cave
- Start date
MCI transplant
Veteran
- Jun 4, 2003
- 5,311
- 584
- Banned
- #32
As you know, rumors are like the elusive butterfly! Origins of it's flight can be all but imposible to trace!
Give a rest E.
It sounds like you have a little AMR cubicle pilot resentment still left in you.
From what I've read about 15 pilots present, and I've lost track as to how many of those have written almost exact recollections as the original letter. Even those that were for the TA have turned to 'NO' as a response to this and that fine piece of work authored by the
The UAL TA is probably the nail in the coffin for Horton's dream of locking the pilots down for a decade.
TWU informer
Veteran
- Nov 4, 2003
- 7,550
- 3,731
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2012/08/unsubstantiated-rumor-time-is-jetblue-airways-the-no-1-target-of-american-airlines.html/#more-7574
Fellow APA Pilots,
We have less than a week before the final tabulation results of American Airlines Last Best Final Offer is revealed. I would be terribly remiss if I did NOT disclose to the membership a dialog session which transpired in Marina Del Rey, CA. The locale was the Warehouse, a restaurant, and I was accompanied by 15 fellow pilots of the LAX domicile, ranging from line pilots, check airmen, Flight Department Pilots who all dined with Captain John Hale and Senior VP of Operations, Mr. Jim Ream.
The meeting occurred on the eve of July 26th. Captain Hale was the financial host of the get together which was arranged specifically to give both Captain Hale and Mr. Ream a cross stratification from the most Junior in our base ranks to the most Senior, from managerial types to union advocates, for the sole purpose of edifying where the rank and file actually stand on this LBFO.
Once dinner was concluded, the small talk ceased as we moved to a more private setting in the restaurant where Captain Hale delivered some opening remarks then handed off the dialog to Mr. Ream who gave us a Macro Economic overview of American Airlines and the goals and Objectives he and others are trying to achieve.
After an opening question by one of our former negotiators was posed regarding the culture of distrust and apparent over reach of this TA, I followed on to ask Mr. Ream a multi faceted question relevant to his Macro vision, which is the heart of my post today.
I stated to Mr. Ream, since it is the public posture of APA for regime change with US AIR being the desired player, that the equity ploy (including F/As & mechanics) would still leave organized labor 15% short of a blocking vote. I felt the POR blocking strategy was indeed a long shot and would very possibly still find us working under a very draconian TA for the next 10 years.
I further stated, I feel American would pursue purchasing JetBlue. Therefore, the existing TA as it stands, leaves the American Airline pilot exposed.
In short, I explained that I felt manipulated and used by BOTH sides and he would not achieve labor peace with the pilots when the depth of deception was revealed. He appeared surprised by how much push back he was sensing from the pilots for he had been led to believe that this TA was a good deal for the pilots inside of bankruptcy.
My question was could He alter the TA before the vote was tabulated, if we could propose a viable argument for why such amendment was necessary.
Mr. Ream responded:
(Not exact quotes, but accurate content, vetted by three other pilots present.)
1) It is the desire of AAL to purchase JetBlue. This would be completed through a complex deal including debt, private equity and preferential shares. He explained that we are far along the road to negotiating this deal and the critical part is HAVING Contracts in place with LABOR. He further acknowledged that the same people that would be loaning us the money for Americans desired POR were consolidating Americans debt. By doing this, they are buying debt at a discounted rate, gaining power on the UCC and have little exposure for they know the financing is viable to emerge from BK.
2) IF the TA were to be voted down by a close margin, they would immediately RE-negotiate to gain a speedy solution with labor. Time being the critical factor to American Airlines due to the in place financing. He stated, the labor stress just ADDS to the Cost of Financing.
3) IF the TA passes, they have done their job for the creditors and have achieved the best deal possible for the debtors.
4) He indicated that changing the TA at this late stage was problematic. The money factor being locked and reported to the UCC. However, he wanted to hear what the pilots felt were the problem areas of the TA.
Dinner was concluded and some very valuable information was exchanged between all parties in attendance. The remainder of the eve was spent discussing the TA and how it affects the pilots. Mr. Ream asked those in attendance to send him 5 bullet points they would want to see in TA #2.
Friday / 27 July:
I was informed that a pilot who was present, had written a debrief and forwarded it to Negotiating Chairman Neil Roghair as well as both LAX Base Representatives.
The remainder of my day was spent sending the attendees 5 Bullet points to Captain Hale and Captain Smith.
Saturday / 28 July:
Captain Hale informed me he was going to be addressing MR. Horton, Ms. Denise Lynn (HR) and would be informing them of the pilots view of this TA from our dialog session.
I assured Captain Hale I would not disclose nor campaign the content of the Warehouse Revelations for five days to allow him to possibly get an internal solution to the very defective TA.
In Conclusion,
True to my word, I promised not to disclose nor discuss the events of 26 July 2012 in order to allow Captain Hale to affect an amendment. Nothing has transpired from either Captain Hales focused efforts, nor has the APA in any official capacity commented on these developments.
PLEASE, Understand this.
1) Americans Stand Alone Plan is fictitious JetBlue is their goal.
2) The APA is so myopic on management change that we are continuing a course of action, so shaky and anemic in terms of substantiation to the failed logic of you wont have to fly under it.
3) If you Vote YES / In favor of this LBFO, you will likely suffer under its compromised content for a minimum of six years.
4) If you elect to REJECT this TA, American will renegotiate to gain a labor agreement.
5) Last, but certainly not least, I am staking my own personal reputation behind stating these facts of the evenings dialog. My passionate pursuit of doing what is right has led me to revealing these details to you today.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the APA, look within your soul and please find the strength to vote with your dignity intact and overcome your fear.
Respectfully and In Unity
Fellow APA Pilots,
We have less than a week before the final tabulation results of American Airlines Last Best Final Offer is revealed. I would be terribly remiss if I did NOT disclose to the membership a dialog session which transpired in Marina Del Rey, CA. The locale was the Warehouse, a restaurant, and I was accompanied by 15 fellow pilots of the LAX domicile, ranging from line pilots, check airmen, Flight Department Pilots who all dined with Captain John Hale and Senior VP of Operations, Mr. Jim Ream.
The meeting occurred on the eve of July 26th. Captain Hale was the financial host of the get together which was arranged specifically to give both Captain Hale and Mr. Ream a cross stratification from the most Junior in our base ranks to the most Senior, from managerial types to union advocates, for the sole purpose of edifying where the rank and file actually stand on this LBFO.
Once dinner was concluded, the small talk ceased as we moved to a more private setting in the restaurant where Captain Hale delivered some opening remarks then handed off the dialog to Mr. Ream who gave us a Macro Economic overview of American Airlines and the goals and Objectives he and others are trying to achieve.
After an opening question by one of our former negotiators was posed regarding the culture of distrust and apparent over reach of this TA, I followed on to ask Mr. Ream a multi faceted question relevant to his Macro vision, which is the heart of my post today.
I stated to Mr. Ream, since it is the public posture of APA for regime change with US AIR being the desired player, that the equity ploy (including F/As & mechanics) would still leave organized labor 15% short of a blocking vote. I felt the POR blocking strategy was indeed a long shot and would very possibly still find us working under a very draconian TA for the next 10 years.
I further stated, I feel American would pursue purchasing JetBlue. Therefore, the existing TA as it stands, leaves the American Airline pilot exposed.
In short, I explained that I felt manipulated and used by BOTH sides and he would not achieve labor peace with the pilots when the depth of deception was revealed. He appeared surprised by how much push back he was sensing from the pilots for he had been led to believe that this TA was a good deal for the pilots inside of bankruptcy.
My question was could He alter the TA before the vote was tabulated, if we could propose a viable argument for why such amendment was necessary.
Mr. Ream responded:
(Not exact quotes, but accurate content, vetted by three other pilots present.)
1) It is the desire of AAL to purchase JetBlue. This would be completed through a complex deal including debt, private equity and preferential shares. He explained that we are far along the road to negotiating this deal and the critical part is HAVING Contracts in place with LABOR. He further acknowledged that the same people that would be loaning us the money for Americans desired POR were consolidating Americans debt. By doing this, they are buying debt at a discounted rate, gaining power on the UCC and have little exposure for they know the financing is viable to emerge from BK.
2) IF the TA were to be voted down by a close margin, they would immediately RE-negotiate to gain a speedy solution with labor. Time being the critical factor to American Airlines due to the in place financing. He stated, the labor stress just ADDS to the Cost of Financing.
3) IF the TA passes, they have done their job for the creditors and have achieved the best deal possible for the debtors.
4) He indicated that changing the TA at this late stage was problematic. The money factor being locked and reported to the UCC. However, he wanted to hear what the pilots felt were the problem areas of the TA.
Dinner was concluded and some very valuable information was exchanged between all parties in attendance. The remainder of the eve was spent discussing the TA and how it affects the pilots. Mr. Ream asked those in attendance to send him 5 bullet points they would want to see in TA #2.
Friday / 27 July:
I was informed that a pilot who was present, had written a debrief and forwarded it to Negotiating Chairman Neil Roghair as well as both LAX Base Representatives.
The remainder of my day was spent sending the attendees 5 Bullet points to Captain Hale and Captain Smith.
Saturday / 28 July:
Captain Hale informed me he was going to be addressing MR. Horton, Ms. Denise Lynn (HR) and would be informing them of the pilots view of this TA from our dialog session.
I assured Captain Hale I would not disclose nor campaign the content of the Warehouse Revelations for five days to allow him to possibly get an internal solution to the very defective TA.
In Conclusion,
True to my word, I promised not to disclose nor discuss the events of 26 July 2012 in order to allow Captain Hale to affect an amendment. Nothing has transpired from either Captain Hales focused efforts, nor has the APA in any official capacity commented on these developments.
PLEASE, Understand this.
1) Americans Stand Alone Plan is fictitious JetBlue is their goal.
2) The APA is so myopic on management change that we are continuing a course of action, so shaky and anemic in terms of substantiation to the failed logic of you wont have to fly under it.
3) If you Vote YES / In favor of this LBFO, you will likely suffer under its compromised content for a minimum of six years.
4) If you elect to REJECT this TA, American will renegotiate to gain a labor agreement.
5) Last, but certainly not least, I am staking my own personal reputation behind stating these facts of the evenings dialog. My passionate pursuit of doing what is right has led me to revealing these details to you today.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the APA, look within your soul and please find the strength to vote with your dignity intact and overcome your fear.
Respectfully and In Unity
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2012/08/american-airlines-will-ask-judge-to-toss-out-labor-contracts-if-unions-turn-down-their-deals.html/
An American Airlines spokesman confirmed Friday afternoon that the carrier will ask U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane to toss out the collective bargaining agreements of unions that turn down the company’s latest contract proposals.
Earlier Friday, John Hale, American Airlines vice president of operations, told pilots that American will ask Lane to let the carrier abrogate the labor contracts if pilots turn down a tentative agreement.
Subsequently, the American spokesman confirmed that yes, American will also move to reject the contracts of any union that turns down the deal sitting before its members.
That removes the uncertainty lingering about the airline’s intentions, although it introduces a fear grenade into the situation.
Here’s the timetable:
– Two Transport Workers Union groups are voting on two tentative agreements, covering mechanics and related employees and maintenance stock clerks. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, with results released Wednesday.
– The Allied Pilots Association members are voting on a tentative agreement. Voting ends at noon Wednesday, with results released soon afterward. The APA board of directors come into Fort Worth on Tuesday for meetings, and will be in session when the voting is tabulated.
– The Association of Professional Flight Attendants are voting on American’s “last, best and final offer,” with the union’s board declining to adopt it as a tentative agreement but deciding to send the proposal to members. Their voting ends at 10 a.m. Aug. 19.
– Between the TWU/APA votes and the APFA vote, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane is set to rule Aug. 15 on American’s March 23 motions to reject its unresolved union contracts. It’s up to American to ask the judge to delay that decision until after the APFA results come in, if American so desires.
Precipitating the public pronouncements was a report out of Los Angeles by a pilot who attended a July 26 meeting with Hale and Hale’s boss, senior vice president of operations Jim Ream. According to the report that’s been widely circulated among American Airlines employees, the executives left the impression that American really needs a labor deal and a no vote by APA members would bring a better deal.
An American Airlines spokesman confirmed Friday afternoon that the carrier will ask U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane to toss out the collective bargaining agreements of unions that turn down the company’s latest contract proposals.
Earlier Friday, John Hale, American Airlines vice president of operations, told pilots that American will ask Lane to let the carrier abrogate the labor contracts if pilots turn down a tentative agreement.
Subsequently, the American spokesman confirmed that yes, American will also move to reject the contracts of any union that turns down the deal sitting before its members.
That removes the uncertainty lingering about the airline’s intentions, although it introduces a fear grenade into the situation.
Here’s the timetable:
– Two Transport Workers Union groups are voting on two tentative agreements, covering mechanics and related employees and maintenance stock clerks. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, with results released Wednesday.
– The Allied Pilots Association members are voting on a tentative agreement. Voting ends at noon Wednesday, with results released soon afterward. The APA board of directors come into Fort Worth on Tuesday for meetings, and will be in session when the voting is tabulated.
– The Association of Professional Flight Attendants are voting on American’s “last, best and final offer,” with the union’s board declining to adopt it as a tentative agreement but deciding to send the proposal to members. Their voting ends at 10 a.m. Aug. 19.
– Between the TWU/APA votes and the APFA vote, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane is set to rule Aug. 15 on American’s March 23 motions to reject its unresolved union contracts. It’s up to American to ask the judge to delay that decision until after the APFA results come in, if American so desires.
Precipitating the public pronouncements was a report out of Los Angeles by a pilot who attended a July 26 meeting with Hale and Hale’s boss, senior vice president of operations Jim Ream. According to the report that’s been widely circulated among American Airlines employees, the executives left the impression that American really needs a labor deal and a no vote by APA members would bring a better deal.
Tex-Mech
Veteran
The interesting part is if the contracts are voted down this week, with partial credit going to his comments, what will be the status of the employment status of those executives for spilling the beans?
(Not exact quotes, but accurate content, vetted by three other pilots present.)
1) It is the desire of AAL to purchase JetBlue. This would be completed through a complex deal including debt, private equity and preferential shares. He explained that we are far along the road to negotiating this deal and the critical part is HAVING Contracts in place with LABOR. He further acknowledged that the same people that would be loaning us the money for Americans desired POR were consolidating Americans debt. By doing this, they are buying debt at a discounted rate, gaining power on the UCC and have little exposure for they know the financing is viable to emerge from BK.
2) IF the TA were to be voted down by a close margin, they would immediately RE-negotiate to gain a speedy solution with labor. Time being the critical factor to American Airlines due to the in place financing. He stated, the labor stress just ADDS to the Cost of Financing.
3) IF the TA passes, they have done their job for the creditors and have achieved the best deal possible for the debtors.
Interesting. This is now what is being presented by the TWU.
1) It is the desire of AAL to purchase JetBlue. This would be completed through a complex deal including debt, private equity and preferential shares. He explained that we are far along the road to negotiating this deal and the critical part is HAVING Contracts in place with LABOR. He further acknowledged that the same people that would be loaning us the money for Americans desired POR were consolidating Americans debt. By doing this, they are buying debt at a discounted rate, gaining power on the UCC and have little exposure for they know the financing is viable to emerge from BK.
2) IF the TA were to be voted down by a close margin, they would immediately RE-negotiate to gain a speedy solution with labor. Time being the critical factor to American Airlines due to the in place financing. He stated, the labor stress just ADDS to the Cost of Financing.
3) IF the TA passes, they have done their job for the creditors and have achieved the best deal possible for the debtors.
Interesting. This is now what is being presented by the TWU.
USA320Pilot
Veteran
- May 18, 2003
- 8,175
- 1,539
JetBlue Prefers to Play the Field
By SUSAN CAREY
CHICAGO (WSJ.com) - Discount carrier JetBlue Airways Corp. is flattered by the recent merger attention from American Airlines parent AMR Corp., but the company thinks it is having too much success playing the field.
JetBlue has carved out a dominant position at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and in recent years has leveraged that gateway by entering a series of lucrative tie-ups with mostly international carriers.
"We're focused on our own plan of organic growth, which we believe will produce better value for our shareholders, crew members and customers," Chief Executive Officer Dave Barger told employees in recent meetings.
Last week, Mr. Barger declined to say if JetBlue has received a nondisclosure agreement from American, which, if signed, would allow the two carriers to share confidential financial data to see if a combination was worth pursuing. But a person familiar with JetBlue said the airline hasn't received such a document and wouldn't sign it if one arrived.
AMR, which is in bankruptcy-court protection, is under pressure from its creditors to explore merger possibilities as an alternative to a plan to exit from Chapter 11 on its own. The Fort Worth, Texas, company, which has a smaller hub at JFK, recently identified five possible candidates and began the process by sending a nondisclosure agreement to the largest, ardent suitor US Airways Group Inc., late last week.
People familiar with AMR indicated it that "multiple" confidentiality agreements have been sent in recent days, without saying which of the other carriers besides US Airways have received them. Details of the language couldn't be learned.
JetBlue, which has declined to join one of the three global airline marketing alliances, is focusing on what it calls its "open architecture" model of joining with a growing roster of airlines. Those carriers want access to JetBlue's extensive route networks out of New York, Boston and, to a lesser extent, Los Angeles and several Florida airports.
In 2010, American joined JetBlue's club as a way of bolstering its domestic offerings from New York and Boston. American offers its passengers travel on more than two dozen domestic JetBlue routes that the larger airline doesn't serve. JetBlue passengers can fly on more than a dozen American international routes from New York and Boston.
By inking such "interline" agreements with others, JetBlue can take a partner's passenger arriving from abroad to interior U.S. points and to the Caribbean with a single ticket and automatic luggage transfer. And it make available seats on partners' overseas flights to its domestic customers.
JetBlue, which signed its first partnership in 2007, now has 21 such relationships, with carriers as diverse as Emirates Airlinein Dubai; South African Airways; Aer Lingus of Ireland and Deutsche Lufthansa of Germany. It signed up Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways last week, and Beijing's Air China in June.
JetBlue said the number of passengers received through its partnerships is up 40% over last year. It won't break out the total number or overall revenue gains, but said on flights between JFK and Boston, about 125 passengers a day are coming from or connecting to the partner airlines. The relationships have boosted JetBlue's passenger counts by 50 a day on both the JFK-Los Angeles route and the JFK-Tampa route, the company said.
"Rather than join an alliance and be restricted to working with a pre-defined subset of airlines, JetBlue is 'going retro' by remaining independent and signing contracts with a broad mix of airlines it sees as complementary partners," said Henry Harteveldt of consultants Atmosphere Research Group. "JetBlue just needs to be sure it doesn't have too many partners who step on its toes."
Interline agreements are common in the airline industry, and allow carriers to price and sell connections between their flights and partners' flights. But many are perfunctory. JetBlue said it puts more work into its relationships, according to Scott Resnick, JetBlue's director of airline alliances. He said he recently visited Johannesburg and Dubai in a 10-day stretch, with a stop in New York in between. JetBlue must contract how the revenue is divided up with its partners, tweak connecting times when it can and make travel agents aware of the new routing possibilities. This comes on top of the challenges of volatile fuel prices and JetBlue's relatively high growth rate, which could be upended by an economic slowdown.
While acknowledging that it is hardly blazing a trail with these types of partnerships, Mr. Resnick said, "We're selective about who we work with, the brand fit and network fit, and we're very personalized and nimble in how we work with our partners."
In a few cases, JetBlue takes the relationships further. Lufthansa, Emirates, South African, Japan Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines put their flight codes on select JetBlue flights and sell them as if they were their own. In some cases such as American, JetBlue has frequent-flier tie-ins as well.
The epicenter of the passenger exchanges is at New York's Kennedy Airport, where JetBlue commands 39% of the passengers carried on U.S. airlines and offers flights to more than 60 destinations in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America.
"While we're only 5% of the U.S. marketplace, we have the 5% that everyone wants and needs in order to be successful," Mr. Barger said in a recent employee blog post. More than 60 international carriers fly to JFK, but most have little access to interior U.S. points unless than have a big U.S. partner through a global alliance.
Aer Lingus, JetBlue's first international partner, said the relationship enables it to offer its customers 30 destinations JetBlue serves from JFK and Boston. "We've more than quadrupled our connecting passengers in New York," said Jack Foley, the Irish carrier's executive vice president of North America, from fewer than 4% of customers before 2008 to more than 16% today. Aer Lingus once was in a global alliance, but quit.
Alliance-free Emirates teamed up with JetBlue in late 2010 and received 300 bookings in the first month, said Jim Baxter, the airline's vice president for U.S.A., Caribbean and Central America. Bookings now are running around 6,000 a month, he said. The program also "expands what we have to sell in countries outside the U.S.," he said, because Emirates can sell a ticket that takes a passenger from Orlando to Mumbai, via New York and its hub in Dubai.
Emirates plans to add a second daily superjumbo A380 flight to JFK from Dubai in January, which will represent an increase of 1,000 seats in both directions every week. "That is a challenge," Mr. Baxter said. "That is where JetBlue comes into play."
Even if JetBlue were interested in looking at a merger with American, some analysts think such a deal would face antitrust barriers because the pair would be so large at Kennedy, a slot-controlled airport with limited entry. Among U.S. carriers, American controls nearly 17% of the passengers at that airport.
By SUSAN CAREY
CHICAGO (WSJ.com) - Discount carrier JetBlue Airways Corp. is flattered by the recent merger attention from American Airlines parent AMR Corp., but the company thinks it is having too much success playing the field.
JetBlue has carved out a dominant position at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and in recent years has leveraged that gateway by entering a series of lucrative tie-ups with mostly international carriers.
"We're focused on our own plan of organic growth, which we believe will produce better value for our shareholders, crew members and customers," Chief Executive Officer Dave Barger told employees in recent meetings.
Last week, Mr. Barger declined to say if JetBlue has received a nondisclosure agreement from American, which, if signed, would allow the two carriers to share confidential financial data to see if a combination was worth pursuing. But a person familiar with JetBlue said the airline hasn't received such a document and wouldn't sign it if one arrived.
AMR, which is in bankruptcy-court protection, is under pressure from its creditors to explore merger possibilities as an alternative to a plan to exit from Chapter 11 on its own. The Fort Worth, Texas, company, which has a smaller hub at JFK, recently identified five possible candidates and began the process by sending a nondisclosure agreement to the largest, ardent suitor US Airways Group Inc., late last week.
People familiar with AMR indicated it that "multiple" confidentiality agreements have been sent in recent days, without saying which of the other carriers besides US Airways have received them. Details of the language couldn't be learned.
JetBlue, which has declined to join one of the three global airline marketing alliances, is focusing on what it calls its "open architecture" model of joining with a growing roster of airlines. Those carriers want access to JetBlue's extensive route networks out of New York, Boston and, to a lesser extent, Los Angeles and several Florida airports.
In 2010, American joined JetBlue's club as a way of bolstering its domestic offerings from New York and Boston. American offers its passengers travel on more than two dozen domestic JetBlue routes that the larger airline doesn't serve. JetBlue passengers can fly on more than a dozen American international routes from New York and Boston.
By inking such "interline" agreements with others, JetBlue can take a partner's passenger arriving from abroad to interior U.S. points and to the Caribbean with a single ticket and automatic luggage transfer. And it make available seats on partners' overseas flights to its domestic customers.
JetBlue, which signed its first partnership in 2007, now has 21 such relationships, with carriers as diverse as Emirates Airlinein Dubai; South African Airways; Aer Lingus of Ireland and Deutsche Lufthansa of Germany. It signed up Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways last week, and Beijing's Air China in June.
JetBlue said the number of passengers received through its partnerships is up 40% over last year. It won't break out the total number or overall revenue gains, but said on flights between JFK and Boston, about 125 passengers a day are coming from or connecting to the partner airlines. The relationships have boosted JetBlue's passenger counts by 50 a day on both the JFK-Los Angeles route and the JFK-Tampa route, the company said.
"Rather than join an alliance and be restricted to working with a pre-defined subset of airlines, JetBlue is 'going retro' by remaining independent and signing contracts with a broad mix of airlines it sees as complementary partners," said Henry Harteveldt of consultants Atmosphere Research Group. "JetBlue just needs to be sure it doesn't have too many partners who step on its toes."
Interline agreements are common in the airline industry, and allow carriers to price and sell connections between their flights and partners' flights. But many are perfunctory. JetBlue said it puts more work into its relationships, according to Scott Resnick, JetBlue's director of airline alliances. He said he recently visited Johannesburg and Dubai in a 10-day stretch, with a stop in New York in between. JetBlue must contract how the revenue is divided up with its partners, tweak connecting times when it can and make travel agents aware of the new routing possibilities. This comes on top of the challenges of volatile fuel prices and JetBlue's relatively high growth rate, which could be upended by an economic slowdown.
While acknowledging that it is hardly blazing a trail with these types of partnerships, Mr. Resnick said, "We're selective about who we work with, the brand fit and network fit, and we're very personalized and nimble in how we work with our partners."
In a few cases, JetBlue takes the relationships further. Lufthansa, Emirates, South African, Japan Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines put their flight codes on select JetBlue flights and sell them as if they were their own. In some cases such as American, JetBlue has frequent-flier tie-ins as well.
The epicenter of the passenger exchanges is at New York's Kennedy Airport, where JetBlue commands 39% of the passengers carried on U.S. airlines and offers flights to more than 60 destinations in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America.
"While we're only 5% of the U.S. marketplace, we have the 5% that everyone wants and needs in order to be successful," Mr. Barger said in a recent employee blog post. More than 60 international carriers fly to JFK, but most have little access to interior U.S. points unless than have a big U.S. partner through a global alliance.
Aer Lingus, JetBlue's first international partner, said the relationship enables it to offer its customers 30 destinations JetBlue serves from JFK and Boston. "We've more than quadrupled our connecting passengers in New York," said Jack Foley, the Irish carrier's executive vice president of North America, from fewer than 4% of customers before 2008 to more than 16% today. Aer Lingus once was in a global alliance, but quit.
Alliance-free Emirates teamed up with JetBlue in late 2010 and received 300 bookings in the first month, said Jim Baxter, the airline's vice president for U.S.A., Caribbean and Central America. Bookings now are running around 6,000 a month, he said. The program also "expands what we have to sell in countries outside the U.S.," he said, because Emirates can sell a ticket that takes a passenger from Orlando to Mumbai, via New York and its hub in Dubai.
Emirates plans to add a second daily superjumbo A380 flight to JFK from Dubai in January, which will represent an increase of 1,000 seats in both directions every week. "That is a challenge," Mr. Baxter said. "That is where JetBlue comes into play."
Even if JetBlue were interested in looking at a merger with American, some analysts think such a deal would face antitrust barriers because the pair would be so large at Kennedy, a slot-controlled airport with limited entry. Among U.S. carriers, American controls nearly 17% of the passengers at that airport.
USA320Pilot
Veteran
- May 18, 2003
- 8,175
- 1,539
TWU Local 568 Update (IAG Eyes American Stake): August 5, 2012
http://www.twulocal568.org/index.cfm?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=253359
http://www.twulocal568.org/index.cfm?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=253359
Frank Szabo
Veteran
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:9458]
Thx E.
If true, the only reason senior company officers are running around saying spreading this rumor around is that they really have no intention of doing it which may get them out of the SEC privileged information charge. (I don't know the rules though)
Read the latest comments from IAG. Mayube the Jet Blue stuff is a smoke screen or diversion from the real issue.
eolesen
Veteran
- Jul 23, 2003
- 15,959
- 9,374
Go read Holly's column on PlaneBuzz, Mach... I'm having a hard time believing that you'd have a SVP running that far afoul of the SEC & antitrust rules everyone in management had training on, or the media training that all corporate officers have to go thru.
But, stranger things have indeed happened.
But, stranger things have indeed happened.
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