THIRD QTR. PROFIT

[WorldTraveler]

You seem to be great at digging up numbers, try finding this one :

Fuel burned per airplane.
I'm curious what those would say, not only now, but a year from now and down the road.

I think Parker just may have hit on a winning strategy of no fuel hedging btw.
Fuel prices are dropping, fast.
The environment for high oil prices is evaporating and some analysts are talking about $60 per barrel oil.
For the airlines that fuel hedged, that's not winning as much as it will be for AA.

fuel burned per aircraft is a meaningless statistic because aircraft can be of multiple sizes.

fuel burned per passenger mile or cost of fuel per passenger mile is a statistic that can be applied across all carriers. every carrier has a fuel cost per ASM figure on their SEC filings.

AA clearly brought a higher percentage of its pre-tax/no specials operating profit down to the bottom line - net profit than DL did.

consider the following reasons why:

DL had a much larger special items charge ($570 million) which included the charge for retiring the 747 fleet but also for domestic fleet restructuring including facilities.

AA's $221 million special items is quite small for an airline this far along in a merger. Even by AA's early estimate of the cost of the merger, they have spent a small part of what will be needed to merge the two airlines.

DL's special items charge was the largest of the US airlines. obviously DL realizes it is capable of taking those charges now - and remember that very frequently the reason is to increase profits in the future.

DL paid $384 million in profit sharing. WN paid $100 M. UA paid $129 M. AA - $0 - except for the executives.

DL accounted for payment of $222 million in taxes although doesn't pay actual cash taxes. AA and UA doesn't account for taxes. WN provided $196 million in cash taxes.
Not paying taxes is a great benefit from coming out of BK but is not something that will last. DL said at the end of last year that it would have to begin accounting for taxes this year.

DL still maintains a $4 billion stock valuation premium over AAL.

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

Next you'll be saying that this profit announcement is exactly what APFA doesn't need right now

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

and I can assure you that employees over time could care less how profitable a company is or how great the product is if they make less than their peers at comparable companies.

 
Actually, no, because I am taking the long view. I can see the big picture and I am aware that the investments my airline makes right now when it is flush with cash will benefit me and secure my career for the long term, as opposed to demanding decadent profit sharing checks now (most of which is simply eaten up by taxes, anyway)

 

[Kev3188]

^This^

All the more so after the roller coaster ride of the last 10-15 years or so...

 

[WorldTraveler]

Next you'll be saying that this profit announcement is exactly what APFA doesn't need right now

you said it but large profits generally increase employee expectation of pay raises. WN employees are not thrilled that the best the res/agent group got was 1.5% increases with a me too clause which basically says that WN is not likely to give larger increases to other groups unless it wants to do the same for res/agents.

 
 

Actually, no, because I am taking the long view. I can see the big picture and I am aware that the investments my airline makes right now when it is flush with cash will benefit me and secure my career for the long term, as opposed to demanding decadent profit sharing checks now (most of which is simply eaten up by taxes, anyway)

you are free to think that way but I can assure you most employees will not tolerate sacrificing pay now when the company is making money - because many are still saying that profits are not solid enough to think they will be there tomorrow. If they were solid, then why not receive profit sharing.

I can assure you that your thinking is not shared by the majority of workers.

In an industry where profit sharing is the norm, AA will have a harder and harder time keeping labor peace when other employees are getting not only profit sharing in some amount but also higher pay.

once again, AA's salary and benefits cost per employee based on today's filing is the lowest among the big 4.

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

once again, AA's salary and benefits cost per employee based on today's filing is the lowest among the big 4.

 
Hey look, everybody! WT just identified a competitive edge AA has against DL.

 

[WorldTraveler]

of course it is. US had that advantage for years... a lot of people seem to have a hard time recognizing that Parker is now doing the same thing with AA as he did with US.

US employees weren't excited to continually be the lowest paid employees among their peers.

 

[traderjake]

Anyone notice that a frequent poster here has yet to congratulate AA employees for an outstanding quarterly profit?

 

[jcw]

Actually he is over on JB threads trashing JB as well

Just out of control

Can everyone go over and offer congrats to the JB folks on their board

 

[OldGuy@AA]

i am just so happy to be part of such a successful quarter. im sure my contribution of 17% of my pay, 50% of my holidays, double time, holiday pay and half day of sick time is finally being used productively!
 
Thank You TWU!

Sorry to keep picking this scab, but it was 17.5% pay cut.  You also forgot about the longevity pay that Little decided the AMTs (and nobody else) should also contribute.  But am I bitter?  You bet your A$$ I am.

 

[AA-MRO.COM]

RECORD PROFITS
 
Thanks for the increase in medical premiums
Thanks for making us the lowest paid AMT's in the industry
 
KEEP HELPING THEM OUT......

 

[AA-MRO.COM]

Actually a profitable company benefits employees by allowing them to invest in the product and in fleet renewal with actual modern aircraft for the first time in a long time

 
And that is why I'm still driving around a 200 Honda CRV with 250 thousand miles on it. Fleet renewal my arse

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

 
And that is why I'm still driving around a 200 Honda CRV with 250 thousand miles on it. Fleet renewal my arse

 
You guys deserve more, for sure, and I hope you get it. I can only speak for my work group when I say that the TA we are currently voting on is fine with me. Not perfect, but beats the alternative.

 

[robbedagain]

jcw i sent congrats to both wn and b6 as well as aa and i did for dl its pretty dam sad wt thrashes everyone but yet he cannot come up w a single thing let alone a list of wrong doings for u bro

 

[jcw]

Nice work I need to send congrats for wn good thinking