Earnings call

In case you missed it, here is today's (archived) quarterly earnings call. It is available only until the 22^nd.

Of note to us; Jeff Smisek said he expects a single operating certificate to be finalized by the end of next year, and also he felt the outstanding amendable labor agreements would be in place by that time.

Link change

Jock Creach from Seattle sent me a revised link for the TAMC outsourcing report and it has now been updated in the useful links. The new revised form is shorter and easier to use.

Fidelity 401k plan change

All,

You should have already received a booklet from Fidelity outlining the changes to your 401k plan. Thanks to Larry Calhoun from New York for pointing this out as I probably would have set it aside to read at a later date. There are significant changes to available funds and it would be a good idea to read about and research the new funds. Another change is that Brokeragelink is now available for increase to 99% of your account.

We are all getting much closer to the time when these funds will be needed, so now would probably be a good time to sit down with a financial advisor to plot your investment strategy.

Take care,

Bob

Snake oil salesmen

I'm fat. To be specific, I'm about thirty pounds overweight. There are several reasons for this condition, with the first and foremost being that I eat too much and exercise too little. What I would kill for is a pill or device that takes no effort on my part to get in shape. We've all seen the ads for pills or items that claim you'll get instant results or it only takes three minutes a day to be in the best shape of your life. Unfortunately the only thing these products are good for is lightening your wallet and enriching the salesmen and their bosses.

I saw the latest IAM CDU flyer and I immediately thought about all those above mentioned products and the campaigns designed to sell their inferior or worthless products. Like those ads, the flyer sounds good on the surface. "Come join us for Wonderful and Better Representation" the flyer seems to scream at us, "No effort is required on your part!" appears to be the message. "But Wait! There's more!" the flyer extols us, as it claims the IAM represented UAL mechanics since 1947 so they know what they're doing. Again, similar to the above ads there are some harsh truths that need to be dealt with. The first one is that the same snake oil salesmen that sold us on the claim that the IAM was not acting in our best interest are now claiming that wasn't true. Second, at this point in time the only major carrier where mechanics are represented by the IAM (USAirways) are currently last on the list for compensation.

So why are these people pushing to go back to the IAM now? The answer is obvious to me. They have been promised jobs either at the Grand Lodge or within the new unsustainable District Lodge at better than 100k for very little effort on their part. In other words like the snake oil salesmen that they are, all they have to do is sell you on an idea and their masters will reward them. Handsomely!

Brothers and Sisters when these shysters attempt to sell you their wares you need ask only one question. What's in it for the membership? Every time one of us buys their garbage and signs a card, it diminishes our ability to achieve a better life. There is no magic pill. If you're concerned about your current representation there is one clear answer. Get involved and work hard. That is the only way to affect change on anything in life. To do otherwise will only lighten your wallet.

An analyst’s look at profit per plane

Here
is an analyst's report on profits per plane for the RJ fleets

Here is an excerpt;

"Among legacies, UAL highest profits per plane, AMR lowest

Among the legacy carriers, United records the highest profits per regional jet aircraft in our analysis, driven by higher utilization (defined as seat-miles per plane). American makes the greatest losses per RJ owing to higher costs and greater scope restrictions. Delta makes above average profits per plane on its mainline fleet, but consistently loses money on its RJ fleet. We think Delta simply operates too many RJs, and rationalization of its RJ fleet should boost Delta's returns."

 

Another item of note is that as fuel costs rise, the use of fifty seat RJ's becomes much more expensive due to the higher fuel per seat of this fleet.

It is an interesting read, is thirteen pages long, and provides insight into the feeder aspect of the industry.

Negotiating committee visits SFO Maintenance Base

Today the IBT negotiating team took the opportunity to visit with the SFO Maintenance Base members. We visited with members of the engine shop, the machine shop, the landing gear shop, the narrow body docks, as well some backshops. In addition we were able to talk with the swing shift shop stewards in the SFO Committee Office. Clacy Griswold the Chief Negotiator for the IBT briefed several of these areas about the ongoing negotiations. There were many very good questions brought forth by the membership during this visit. The two big questions surrounded job protections and pension. Clacy answered these items by stating that these were both high priorities for the negotiating committee. In fact these items are two of the five cornerstones previously reported as requirements to achieve an agreement with the carrier. There were also questions around the economic package and how the final agreement would look. Clacy responded that we are not currently into the economic section of negotiations but he gave his opinion on what was needed to get a ratified agreement.

It was great to get this opportunity to speak with the members and hear their thoughts and concerns.

CAL FA term sheet

Thanks to Carlos Barrantes for this link to the CAL FA term sheet for their new TA