Us Airways Strategic Analysis

[DCAflyer]

USairways will now be know as the "Wham! Bam! Thank you, Senorita!" carrier.

Eleven days.

USAirways expects a totally new market and concept to be fully developed and profitable in eleven days.

This has got to be an all time record for lunacy. I'd like to say than now I've seen it all, but I am convinced that there is no limit to the destructive imagination of the dimwits in CCY.

Industry experts and observers must be in shock and awe over CCY's unending ability to make every bad situation worse. And it's done with such smug obliviousness to reality.

Amazing, really!

[post="252677"][/post]​

I absolutely, 100% agree!

 

[funguy2]

sfb - great points, as usual.

 

[DCAflyer]

Please enlighten me as to why there is no accountability among those in CCY when it comes to these gross shortcomings???

[post="252685"][/post]​

That's an easy one... Bonehead and Lakefield are golfing buddies!

 

[USA320Pilot]

SFB:

Some of your points are inaccurate and I do not have time to respond now due to family obligations. But I will respond tomorrow night.

I will say this about the RJ situation.

The affiliate carrier deals have been "pretty sweet" by guaranteeing profitability for the regional airline. The agreements are called a "Fee for Service" contract. All Mesa, Chautauqua, and TSA have to do is fly their contracted flights on the day specified -- with or without passengers -- and not necessarily at the scheduled time.

Another "real world" example is Mesa flew a Charlotte to Memphis round trip "empty" both ways. Mesa then presented to US Airways its completion of service record and then receives its payment. The fee guarantees Mesa an 8 percent operating margin and is a waste of money and precious natural resources.

Mesa's new problem: the flight was flown with a J4J pilot who reported the abuse to ALPA.

I am now offline until tomorrow night when I will address your post.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

P.S. By the way, senior management personally told me that all of the "wholly owneds" could be sold with ATSB approval.

 

[DCAflyer]

USA320Pilot comments: Most people who post on this board are uninformed regarding what is really occurring inside senior levels of the company. In regard to January’s financial performance, again the S.1110 cure payments, liquidation concerns causing passengers booking away to other companies (much of this labor’s fault), energy costs, and weather problems caused much of the problem.

[post="252727"][/post]​

Please cite credible evidence that passengers are booking away from this airline because of labor threats. This very premise flies in the face of the fact that our load factors are higher than they have ever been.

 

[TheLarkAscending]

USA320Pilot comments: Most people who post on this board are uninformed regarding what is really occurring inside senior levels of the company. .

In regard to key people “on the streetâ€￾, I can tell you they unequivocally support management and have told me so.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

Next stop: Fantasyland.

 

[mweiss]

It's good to know where the company is coming from.

[post="252673"][/post]​

Honestly, I'm having a hard time knowing where the company is coming from. Doesn't look like Earth to me. :unsure:

 

[mweiss]

...the "what do we want to be when we grow up?" meetings...

[post="252696"][/post]​

More like "if we grow up..."

Geez, I'm starting to sound like UVN. :blink:

 

[mweiss]

...Liz Lanier said, “...2005 Plan - Fleet, which reflects the planned reduction in the fleet size, although block hours are expected to increase due to improved utilization.â€￾

Well, what are they waiting for? Do they need an engraved invitation? Special Delivery? Perhaps some skywriting? This should have shown up by now. It hasn't. Why not?

US Airways does not reach its target CASM, per Transformation Plan version 3.2, for about one-year, which is expected to be below Southwest and AirTtan, but above jetBlue Airways.

So the VVI will register positive numbers shortly after the ALT registers 0 AGL? I sure hope you don't fly like that...

 

[justanadd]

USA320Pilot comments: Most people who post on this board are uninformed regarding what is really occurring inside senior levels of the company.

In regard to key people “on the streetâ€￾, I can tell you they unequivocally support management and have told me so.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

[post="252727"][/post]​

Separately, the airline disclosed former CEO David Siegel's golden parachute was significantly larger than the $4.4 million previously disclosed. The corporation's board replaced Siegel with director and former Lehman Brothers chief executive Bruce Lakefield last April.

Siegel actually received roughly $6.1 million in cash compensation. The amount includes cash from two executive retirement plans, unused vacation pay and "tax gross-up" pay to cover taxes due from the severance package, according to a securities filing Tuesday.

Sounds like people on this board aren't the only ones who uninformed regarding what is "REALLY" happening inside senior levels of the company!!!

 

[WorldTraveler]

When airlines report losses of the size CO reported in Feb, the industry is severely in jeopardy. CO has typically done the best job among the legacy airlines of managing its business; losses of $4M dollars a day in a month where fuel averaged closer to $50/bbl indicate how bad financial performance is for other legacy airlines - esp. ones with heavy east coast networks such as US and DL. The east coast is intensely competitive with 2 major players in bankruptcy and Indy effectively operating as if it were in bankruptcy for much of the month (and since it began operations as an independent company). Throw in instability and growing fuel prices and the piddly $5 each way that airlines get for short-haul flights (except in markets where they compete w/ the well-healed LCCs who didn't take the increase) does absolutely nothing for US' finances.

Unless dramatic improvements occur in the legacy segment of the industry really fast (and our delusional A320 pilot seems to be the only one expecting them), a shakeout in the industry is certain to happen by fall, if not sooner. Neither the government or GE or anybody else can continue to prop up the number of ailing airlines in this country. And the effort that has been exerted to prop them up over the past four years will only increase the intensity of the fall when it occurs. And this is NOT an election year.

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompa..._wen6511_newsml

 

[funguy2]

P.S. By the way, senior management personally told me that all of the "wholly owneds" could be sold with ATSB approval.

If I had a nickel for every item that management (supposedly) told you would happen, and has not yet to come to fruition, I would have close to five bucks... Almost enough for coffee at Starbucks.

 

[BoeingBoy]

P.S. By the way, senior management personally told me that all of the "wholly owneds" could be sold with ATSB approval.

[post="252852"][/post]​

If I had a nickel for every item that management (supposedly) told you would happen, and has yet to come to fruition, I would have close to five bucks... Almost enough for coffee at Starbucks.

[post="252902"][/post]​

To be fair, USA320 is right here - the W/O'ed can be sold with ATSB approval. But like sfb said, it won't improve liquidity (as USA320 claimed) because the proceeds have to go toward the loan principal - barring some new agreement with the ATSB.

Jim

 

[ual777fan]

Who did the install job for the hotline between USA320Pilot and CCY? I was just wondering if you accidentally installed a mind control device while you were at it?

 

[BoeingBoy]

Leitch noted the loan was well-priced and doesn't have commitment fees or prepayment penalties.

[post="252629"][/post]​

Something bothered me about this besides the "well-priced" part, which I covered in a post when the AWAC agreement was available on the court docket. (The rate is LIBOR + 6.5%, or approximately 9.5 - 10% today, for those that don't remember)

So I looked it up....

The "no prepayment penalties" (in fact any prepayment at all) is only till the earlier of a) 30 days after the Tranche B draw (IOW, getting the 2nd installment) or B) April 30, 2005. By the terms of the loan, the 2nd installment can be drawn 30 days after the judge approved the deal (Feb 28). By my counting, that means the earliest the prepayment clause could expire is April 29.

While it's true there are no commitment fees, US will pay up to $200,000 to Eastshore for "(i) Eastshore’s due diligence investigation of the Debtors, (ii) the negotiation of the Loan Agreement and the JSA, (iii) participation in the bankruptcy court proceedings and the Plan formation process, and (iv) the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby"

Jim

[edit & add] None of this means I think US will repay the loan - there isn't the money. If we emerge from BK, the loan will be swapped for equity, if we don't then Eastshore is 2nd in line to be repaid from the assets.