CONTINENTAL WARNS OF FURLOUGHS.....

[Jack]

So, uh, what brings you here?

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Flew King Airs for 20 years until I lost my medical, went into the aircraft mod business for awhile and my business is financial consulting and buying and selling airplanes.

Got the medical back about two years ago, and when I get the chance I tool around in a 182. I like pilot chatter.

[mpenguin1]

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No, I'm not, but I am "comfortable." The people I deal with however ARE rich, filthy rich actually. And since they insist on seeing me face to face on occasion, they have to be willing to pay the price.

When I spend my own money, I usually fly Southwest.

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So, uh, what brings you here?

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Each & every once of us has reason why they come to this website, though I am quite confident that most of us enjoy the airline chatter.

[Maximillian_Jenius]

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Wow...your a rich b*itch....



-Matthew

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No, I'm not, but I am "comfortable." The people I deal with however ARE rich, filthy rich actually. And since they insist on seeing me face to face on occasion, they have to be willing to pay the price.

When I spend my own money, I usually fly Southwest.

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Hope that you know that I was kidding hence my sarcasm tag....


-Matthew

[EricPalmer]

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LCC's are really only able to do it today because of fuel hedging. Now once the hedging starts running dry, then things get real interesting.

Paradigm shifts, new realities, "the market has changed forever (for like the hundreth time in the last decade)" are all catchphrases spouted by analysts that don't what the *expletive* they're talking about.

It's the price of fuel. Period.

Americans want cheap Chinese-made products and they want to purchase them by the value-pack at Wal Mart.

Guess what? The billion Chinese make more scratch, build bigger houses and buy bigger cars - all which take more oil to heat and more gas to drive.

Our dollar was driven into the dirt for a variety of reasons. Increased oil consumption in developing nations coupled with a dollar that isn't worth the paper it gets printed on equals inflated fuel costs.

It's not that hard folks.

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Agree.

[flyover]

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LCC's are really only able to do it today because of fuel hedging. Now once the hedging starts running dry, then things get real interesting.

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Pretty wishful thinking. The only LCC that can hedge to any significant extent is SWA because of their credit rating. Even with no hedging the LCCs have a significant cost advantage. Even if they slipped into the red because fuel prices stay high, that will be mitigated by the inevitable drop in capacity as some of the legacies finally start to expire. When that happens the LCCs will be the first back into the black again. In the near term they are in a comfortable position. Longer term, at least a few years out, they will have stiff competition.

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Paradigm shifts, new realities, "the market has changed forever (for like the hundreth time in the last decade)" are all catchphrases spouted by analysts that don't what the *expletive* they're talking about.

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It will be a different industry in a few years, not recognizable from pre-2001, if only by the number of missing airlines.

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It's the price of fuel. Period.

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Even if it were just the price of fuel and not too many hubs the result is the same. Some hub competition has to leave the market before the remaining competitors can sell tickets above cost. As you point out there isn't likely to be any salvation from lower oil prices.

[Ace_High]

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It's the price of fuel. Period.

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Even if it were just the price of fuel and not too many hubs the result is the same. Some hub competition has to leave the market before the remaining competitors can sell tickets above cost. As you point out there isn't likely to be any salvation from lower oil prices.

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Here is a good article on fuel prices and which airlines are hedged:

US airlines face billions in extra fuel costs

Interesting how CAL has to pay for XJTs fuel over a certain price.