2 For 1 Bankruptcy Special
- Thread starter Bagbelt
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There is nothing more ignorant than blaming the cost of oil on Exxon.
No one wants to accept that they are part of the problem. You don't like Exxon earning $10 billion? Don't drive so damn much, take some personal responsibility.
The national disgrace is not that Delta and Northwest are in bankrupcty, but they are there because the damn government won't let United and USAir die. They perpetuate the problem.
We would all be better off if some of these other airlines went out of business.
They were already talking in the financial press that now AA may be at an economic disadvantage because everyone else is modifying their cost structures to meet the new economic realities except for AA.
Perhaps the government should liquidate all airlines in BK and start a Nationalized airline instead. J
ust think, no hmmm NW $250 roundtrip with the chance of a diversion to an exotic local, AA $235 roundtrip and you get to listen to an onboard TWU vs. AMFA debate by 2 mechanics traveling non-rev in the row behind you. $240 on HP/US or PUSH as I like to call them or $225 on WN where you'll probably have to sit next to the drunk guy from the tv show Airline.
How about Air America? Air Republican, Air Reagan?
Perhaps the government should liquidate all airlines in BK and start a Nationalized airline instead. J
ust think, no hmmm NW $250 roundtrip with the chance of a diversion to an exotic local, AA $235 roundtrip and you get to listen to an onboard TWU vs. AMFA debate by 2 mechanics traveling non-rev in the row behind you. $240 on HP/US or PUSH as I like to call them or $225 on WN where you'll probably have to sit next to the drunk guy from the tv show Airline.
How about Air America? Air Republican, Air Reagan?
The advantages of bankruptcy are clearly up for debate. If the cost advantage was so great, why has USAir been twice? Why has it taken 3 years for UAL to get out of bankruptcy? Why did UAL lose money in the 2nd quarter while AA made money? I don't buy that it is that clear cut.
Wretched Wrench
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I agree, it is not all that clear cut. However, Tilton was quoted as saying the bankruptcy was the best way around union contracts. And, of course, they had to do it soon, because of the restrictions on executive retention bonuses after Oct 16.
Lorenzo and Icahn did ok for themselves, too.
Lorenzo and Icahn did ok for themselves, too.
Bagbelt
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I don't drive far, I use public trans. and I agree we use too much gas. That being said, why is there no oversight of a market being driven by irrational, emotional, speculation? The economy is a house of cards being held up by cheap credit on a housing bubble. Good luck.
What market are you talking about? The oil market? You don't think that while the USA continue to use more gas every year, but hasn't built a refinery in 30 years could cause a bit of a shortage. You don't think China continues to import more an more oil every year? Could it be that demand has caught up to supply?
Wretched Wrench
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I am very worried about the PBGC. If these two default on their retirement plans, as NW will begin to do tomorrow, the PBGC will be fatally underfunded.
local 12 proud
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Don't fret, We the AMERICAN taxpayer will foot the bill!Wretched Wrench said:
TonyB
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Oneflyer said:
China my ass!. We have enough oil in Alaska to supply the U.S. consumer but it's more profitable for EXXON etal. to sell it to the Japanese. Lets not forget all those capped oil wells in the lower 48. Don't think for one second that the federal government would intervene on behalf of the American people. Yeah I know, free market...blah,blah, blah...The reality is that the government of the people, by the people and for the people is dead! We live under corporate governance and we are mere corporate slaves. :down: :down:
You should have said you are ashamed to be an "American Employee".Bagbelt said:
When AA workers accepted the biggest concession package in history because the company "threatened" to go BK they sealed everyone elses fate. AA was the healthiest of all the carriers going into this and when AA lowered their labor costs it gave AA a knockout punch to the rest of the industry. Its huge size combined with lower costs was more than any other carrier could take. AA is the only airline, thanks to its company unions, that could manaage to get such rediculous concessions.
The fact is thats what the TWU was hoping for all along. The TWU has been giving AA the lowest labor costs for twenty years.It took that long to destroy unionism in this industry. Two tier wage scales, Flex benifits, prefunding, SRPs, OSMs etc were all TWU industry leading concessions, all of them created downward pressure on wages. None of them compared to Jim Littles "without further ratification concession package of 2003, that kept his kickback nearly intact. (Gary Yingst reportedly admitted that his check from AA was cut so his combined income was decreased by around 7%, Bobby Gless admitted under testimony on July 14, 2004 that he was paid $120,000 for being an International rep, the LM-2 showed $60,000, the other $60,000 came from the company, Jim Little earned approximately $1500,000 from the TWU, if you add in the $65,000 from AA he gets $210,000).
They hope that AA comes out of this much larger this way the TWU will get more dues payers.
