Letter from Doug Parker
- Thread starter Fixed Wing
- Start date
It always tickled me in years gone by when adult male pass riders HAD to wear a jacket to sit in First Class. Then, when you actually boarded the airplane, the first thing that happened was the flight attendant hovering over you to take your "essential" jacket and place it unceremoniously in the coat closet.
It never made a lick of sense to me, but I guess that's why I'm not in management. I try to be sensible whenever possible.
Obviously Prudential hasn't seen the AWA-side Joint Negotiating Committee memo to its pilots recently released through unofficial channels since the AWA MEC refused to divulge the info through their own Communications Committee.
There's BIG trouble in paradise. Jerry is trying to work his magic and the AWA-side of the JNC isn't taking the bait. Unless Parker wises up real quick, he will find himself with NO synergy benefits from the pilots. That will impact airline ops big-time.
ClueByFour
Veteran
Stock price (as U demonstrated twice before LCC) has nothing at all to do with either fiscal health of a company. I find it interesting that you insinuate that there is some link.
Just out of curiosity, how is someone who was holding U at $28 before BK II doing with their holdings?
Better yet--I suppose a stock like GOOG (a company that reports positive EPS) was just an abberation when it went from $450 to $350. Analyst opinion and stock price have nothing to do with the fiscal health of a company.
LCC_#1
Veteran
I'll take that one. The A f/a is suppose to great n meet, hang jackets, and offer a beverage. When I am A, I usually ask the C f/a to just say hi and grab any coats that I may bring to him. I take care of the FC passengers, whether its 16 on the 320 or 12 on the 319/737.
On the 321, we are at minimuns and there needs to be someone at every area of the ac. If we are not full up front, I will do my best to get everyone a beverage. C f/a hangs jackets for rows 4-7 and A hangs 1-3. If we are full up front...sorry guys AND inflight, but I DO and WILL CONTINUE to place a bottle of water in their cubby hole. I feel that is a SMALL price in exchange for putting 26 seats in FC and providing little help FOR FC. Something is better than nothing.
I do not find providing for FC during boarding to be that much of a delay. I crawl back there in the trenches and have C to kindly hold them back as I come up. Total time X's three rows? 30 seconds!! Some f/as are just pathetic souls who think because THEY gave, we should somehow punish the customer and drive them away.
Suggestion to agents? When you board first class, give us a clear 2 minutes to settle what is USUALLY the bulk of FC. Then the jealous coach passngers or the uptight flight attendant can't biitch.
:huh:BoeingBoy said: "I'm frankly flomixed by the statement about insider buying, since it wasn't in the Prudential report."
USA320Pilot comments: BoeingBoy, it was in the report I read from Prudential. Did you get that report in addition to your CBS MarketWatch link?
By the way, Business Week Online said today, "Analyst Bob McAdoo notes factors such as the company's quarterly results, insider buying, and costs."
Click here for more insider buying comments.
I agree, "I'm frankly flomixed by the statement about insider buying, since it was in the Prudential report." I find it interesting that you conviently missed that point too...never mind..."
Moreover, I guess 700UW was wrong again about who was being truthful.
ClueByFour, I believe you're going to be very surprised on May 9, but what is new?
Best regards,
USA320Pilot
USA320Pilot comments: BoeingBoy, it was in the report I read from Prudential. Did you get that report in addition to your CBS MarketWatch link?
By the way, Business Week Online said today, "Analyst Bob McAdoo notes factors such as the company's quarterly results, insider buying, and costs."
Click here for more insider buying comments.
I agree, "I'm frankly flomixed by the statement about insider buying, since it was in the Prudential report." I find it interesting that you conviently missed that point too...never mind..."
Moreover, I guess 700UW was wrong again about who was being truthful.
ClueByFour, I believe you're going to be very surprised on May 9, but what is new?
Best regards,
USA320Pilot
ClueByFour
Veteran
What, another one of those "LCC made a quarterly profit!!!**"
headlines?
**--oh, BTW, then we count the merger items.
Or, that LCC reports a spring profit even with merger items, despite the fact that absent shifting some ticket counters, it's still two operations. Two reservations systems. Two certificates. Two MX operations. Two OCCs. Two pilot contracts.
Still waiting to hear how our investor who had US at $28 between bankruptcies is doing. I believe there was even an EPS positive quarter in there.
BoeingBoy
Veteran
- Nov 9, 2003
- 16,512
- 5,865
I have no idea what you saw, but the report issued today by Prudential's McAdoo didn't say anything about insider trading.
Maybe you can point all of us to the SEC filings for these insider trades - they're required to be filed, you know. The only recent one's as of now are for the transactions I mentioned......
Jim
autofixer
Veteran
Doug just exercised some options(aquired)...does he know something?
http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/701345/...45X02/edgar.xml
Also some guy named Walsh...
http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/701345/...45X02/edgar.xml
I assume the "A" means they excercised their options and have taken the stock?
http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/701345/...45X02/edgar.xml
Also some guy named Walsh...
http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/701345/...45X02/edgar.xml
I assume the "A" means they excercised their options and have taken the stock?
BoeingBoy
Veteran
- Nov 9, 2003
- 16,512
- 5,865
Actually, they weren't options. They were the stock grants or stock appreciation rights (depending on which part of the SEC form you're talking about) that vest in 3 installments that I mentioned earlier.
"Represents a grant of restricted stock units that will vest in increments of one third on each of April 19, 2007, April 19, 2008 and April 19, 2009. The restricted stock units entitle the holder to one share of common stock per unit upon vesting."
"The stock appreciation right vests in increments of one third on each of April 19, 2007, April 19, 2008 and April 19, 2009."
The HP website is nice enough to list these along with any other SEC filings. As I said previously, several executives got these stock grants and appreciation rights within the last week or so.
Jim
ps - Walsh is Sr. VP, General Counsel.
"Represents a grant of restricted stock units that will vest in increments of one third on each of April 19, 2007, April 19, 2008 and April 19, 2009. The restricted stock units entitle the holder to one share of common stock per unit upon vesting."
"The stock appreciation right vests in increments of one third on each of April 19, 2007, April 19, 2008 and April 19, 2009."
The HP website is nice enough to list these along with any other SEC filings. As I said previously, several executives got these stock grants and appreciation rights within the last week or so.
Jim
ps - Walsh is Sr. VP, General Counsel.
ClueByFour said: "What, another one of those "LCC made a quarterly profit!"
USA320Pilot comments: Today Bloomberg News publicly reported that Robert McAdoo, a prudential Equity Group LLC analyst, said he expects US Airways to earn 10 cents a share when it reports first-quarter results next month. he previously estimated a loss of $1.73 a share. McAdoo said his new estimate was based on lower costs and improved revenues at US Airways.
Interestingly, McAdoo is expecting US Airways to post a profit during the first quarter, traditionally one of the worst quarters of the year, during a period of record energy prices.
ClueByFour said: "Look for much higher than anticipated "integration costs" and much lower than expected "synergy savings." I've run billion dollar integrations from an IT and process perspective--Parker's estimated "synergies" in those areas alone is laughably optimistic. As for when? I'm not willing to crawl out on the same limb as airline analysts looking for a nice pump and dump opportunity, largely because nobody without serious hedges has a business plan that can support $70/bbl (or higher) oil."
BoeingBoy said: "I have no idea what you saw, but the report issued today by Prudential's McAdoo didn't say anything about insider trading."
USA320Pilot asks: I find it interesting that earlier today I indicated that McAdoo indicated there was "inside trading", Boeing Boy disputed that claim, and then Business Week made the comments below? How could I have reported McAdoo's comments and then the news media published there remarks?
Business Week Online said: "Analyst Bob McAdoo raised his $1.73 first quarter loss estimate to 10 cents earnings per share (EPS,) and his 73 cents 2006 EPS to $6.45 EPS (excluding merger costs.) He now sees costs at the low end of newly provided guidance. He does not think other analysts have properly considered this guidance, or the company's three straight months of 20%+ revenue per available seat mile growth. He had formerly been concerned about integration issues of the combined America West/US Airways company, but he is surprised by the lack of related problems over the past seven months. Recent insider buying adds a degree of confidence in his positive outlook for the company. He raises his $40 stock price target to $48," Business Week Online said.
Moreover, the much of the information I posted in this thread came from J.P. Morgan, Prudential, Lehman Brothers, Business Week, and Bloomberg News, some of it before it was made public knowledge. How can that be? BoeingBoy, with your public research can you figure this out? Moreover, BoeingBoy can you tell me what Business Week means with their comment of "Recent insider buying adds a degree of confidence in his positive outlook for the company?"
Nycbusdriver said: "Obviously Prudential hasn't seen the AWA-side Joint Negotiating Committee memo to its pilots recently released through unofficial channels since the AWA MEC refused to divulge the info through their own Communications Committee," he said.
"There's BIG trouble in paradise. Jerry is trying to work his magic and the AWA-side of the JNC isn't taking the bait. Unless Parker wises up real quick, he will find himself with NO synergy benefits from the pilots. That will impact airline ops big-time," Nycbusdriver noted.
AWA MEC Update - Sunday, April 24, 2006
As most of you know by now our Negotiating Committee has distributed a message to our pilot group that sounds the alarm that management is in the process of implementing a strategy to impose a substandard, concessionary contract. Furthermore the Negotiating Committee implies that this MEC is, in effect, sanctioning management’s bad behavior through a “destructive path of compromise and surrender.â€
The reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. Early in March, the JNC delivered a comprehensive scheduling proposal to management. This proposal encompassed Section 4 (Minimum Pay Guarantees), Section 12
(Hours of Service), Section 18 (International Flying), and Section 25 (Scheduling). Management took a month to look over our proposal and gave us their response last week, when the JNC met with them in DC. While some were shocked
by what management delivered, this MEC was not. In fact, drawing on a long experience of dealing with this management team in general, and the company’s lead negotiator Jerry Glass in particular, your MEC found
management’s counter proposal to be about what we expected. While we were indeed disappointed that Mr. Parker has apparently be feeding us a lot of empty promises about a new era of cooperation, we were unfortunately not surprised.
What our pilots need to focus on is the fact that management’s proposal to us last week, as lame as it is, was only their initial response back to our own proposal from the month before. This is where the work of negotiations begins. This is not the end, as a few would have you believe, but the beginning of our work at the table. No member of this MEC finds management’s proposal acceptable, and no member of this MEC expects that when negotiations are complete that the contract will resemble last week’s proposal in any substantive way.
It is truly disappointing that our Negotiating Committee felt so threatened by management’s counter proposal that they felt it necessary to circumvent the MEC and deliver their own personal message to our pilots.
Ironically, rather than recommit to working even harder to assure that our pilots get the contract they deserve, our team decided to sound the alarm bells instead. It is the negotiators’ responsibility to dismantle management’s
ludicrous proposal and craft it back into something we can be proud of.
Having recently lived through our own Section 6 negotiations, we all know that negotiations are a four step process. First we must ensure that we have the right people at the table.
Secondly, we must successfully negotiate a satisfactory contract.
Thirdly, the contract must be ratified and finally the contract must be implemented. Your MEC will be meeting in Special Session on Wednesday with the aim of determining where we go from here in terms of our negotiating team. As difficult as it may be to make a change now, it is clear that in order to successfully get to step two of the process our entire team must be on the same page.
For too long our pilot group has been divided because we have not been willing to trust each other and work as a team. Our pilots have demanded that the divisiveness stop. Last week you received a letter from this MEC expressing our commitment to each other and to our pilot group. We recognize that the only way we will ever succeed against our true adversary in management is to hang together and fight together.
In Solidarity,
AWA MEC
USA320Pilot comments: Today Bloomberg News publicly reported that Robert McAdoo, a prudential Equity Group LLC analyst, said he expects US Airways to earn 10 cents a share when it reports first-quarter results next month. he previously estimated a loss of $1.73 a share. McAdoo said his new estimate was based on lower costs and improved revenues at US Airways.
Interestingly, McAdoo is expecting US Airways to post a profit during the first quarter, traditionally one of the worst quarters of the year, during a period of record energy prices.
ClueByFour said: "Look for much higher than anticipated "integration costs" and much lower than expected "synergy savings." I've run billion dollar integrations from an IT and process perspective--Parker's estimated "synergies" in those areas alone is laughably optimistic. As for when? I'm not willing to crawl out on the same limb as airline analysts looking for a nice pump and dump opportunity, largely because nobody without serious hedges has a business plan that can support $70/bbl (or higher) oil."
BoeingBoy said: "I have no idea what you saw, but the report issued today by Prudential's McAdoo didn't say anything about insider trading."
USA320Pilot asks: I find it interesting that earlier today I indicated that McAdoo indicated there was "inside trading", Boeing Boy disputed that claim, and then Business Week made the comments below? How could I have reported McAdoo's comments and then the news media published there remarks?
Business Week Online said: "Analyst Bob McAdoo raised his $1.73 first quarter loss estimate to 10 cents earnings per share (EPS,) and his 73 cents 2006 EPS to $6.45 EPS (excluding merger costs.) He now sees costs at the low end of newly provided guidance. He does not think other analysts have properly considered this guidance, or the company's three straight months of 20%+ revenue per available seat mile growth. He had formerly been concerned about integration issues of the combined America West/US Airways company, but he is surprised by the lack of related problems over the past seven months. Recent insider buying adds a degree of confidence in his positive outlook for the company. He raises his $40 stock price target to $48," Business Week Online said.
Moreover, the much of the information I posted in this thread came from J.P. Morgan, Prudential, Lehman Brothers, Business Week, and Bloomberg News, some of it before it was made public knowledge. How can that be? BoeingBoy, with your public research can you figure this out? Moreover, BoeingBoy can you tell me what Business Week means with their comment of "Recent insider buying adds a degree of confidence in his positive outlook for the company?"
Nycbusdriver said: "Obviously Prudential hasn't seen the AWA-side Joint Negotiating Committee memo to its pilots recently released through unofficial channels since the AWA MEC refused to divulge the info through their own Communications Committee," he said.
"There's BIG trouble in paradise. Jerry is trying to work his magic and the AWA-side of the JNC isn't taking the bait. Unless Parker wises up real quick, he will find himself with NO synergy benefits from the pilots. That will impact airline ops big-time," Nycbusdriver noted.
AWA MEC Update - Sunday, April 24, 2006
As most of you know by now our Negotiating Committee has distributed a message to our pilot group that sounds the alarm that management is in the process of implementing a strategy to impose a substandard, concessionary contract. Furthermore the Negotiating Committee implies that this MEC is, in effect, sanctioning management’s bad behavior through a “destructive path of compromise and surrender.â€
The reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. Early in March, the JNC delivered a comprehensive scheduling proposal to management. This proposal encompassed Section 4 (Minimum Pay Guarantees), Section 12
(Hours of Service), Section 18 (International Flying), and Section 25 (Scheduling). Management took a month to look over our proposal and gave us their response last week, when the JNC met with them in DC. While some were shocked
by what management delivered, this MEC was not. In fact, drawing on a long experience of dealing with this management team in general, and the company’s lead negotiator Jerry Glass in particular, your MEC found
management’s counter proposal to be about what we expected. While we were indeed disappointed that Mr. Parker has apparently be feeding us a lot of empty promises about a new era of cooperation, we were unfortunately not surprised.
What our pilots need to focus on is the fact that management’s proposal to us last week, as lame as it is, was only their initial response back to our own proposal from the month before. This is where the work of negotiations begins. This is not the end, as a few would have you believe, but the beginning of our work at the table. No member of this MEC finds management’s proposal acceptable, and no member of this MEC expects that when negotiations are complete that the contract will resemble last week’s proposal in any substantive way.
It is truly disappointing that our Negotiating Committee felt so threatened by management’s counter proposal that they felt it necessary to circumvent the MEC and deliver their own personal message to our pilots.
Ironically, rather than recommit to working even harder to assure that our pilots get the contract they deserve, our team decided to sound the alarm bells instead. It is the negotiators’ responsibility to dismantle management’s
ludicrous proposal and craft it back into something we can be proud of.
Having recently lived through our own Section 6 negotiations, we all know that negotiations are a four step process. First we must ensure that we have the right people at the table.
Secondly, we must successfully negotiate a satisfactory contract.
Thirdly, the contract must be ratified and finally the contract must be implemented. Your MEC will be meeting in Special Session on Wednesday with the aim of determining where we go from here in terms of our negotiating team. As difficult as it may be to make a change now, it is clear that in order to successfully get to step two of the process our entire team must be on the same page.
For too long our pilot group has been divided because we have not been willing to trust each other and work as a team. Our pilots have demanded that the divisiveness stop. Last week you received a letter from this MEC expressing our commitment to each other and to our pilot group. We recognize that the only way we will ever succeed against our true adversary in management is to hang together and fight together.
In Solidarity,
AWA MEC
BoeingBoy
Veteran
- Nov 9, 2003
- 16,512
- 5,865
Well, actually.....earlier today you quoted a media report that claimed that Prudential had said there was recent insider buying (presumably the MarketWatch clip since it was verbatum). Then you claimed to have read Prudental's report. Now you quote another media report that claims that McAdoo said that there was recent insider buying.
I've read the McAdoo report and it says nothing about insider trading. I've asked you to point all of us to the filings where this insider trading was reported to the SEC, as is required. As such, they're public information so where are they?
Could it be that these various media outlets mistakenly thought the recent stock grants to executives were insider buying, or just picked it up from MarketWatch and ran with it? Could it be that MarketWatch just added that line to their report as supporting evidence of McAdoo's raised price target?
If need be I'll post the entire text of McAdoo's report to settle this - I just hate to waste the bandwidth....
Jim
ps - oh, yes - the "How could I have reported McAdoo's comments and then the news media published there remarks?" part....
If you'll notice, MarketWatch issued their comments at 6:57am this morning. You made your "comment" (the cut-n-paste) just before noon. Don't pat yourself on the back too hard for beating the media....
ClueByFour
Veteran
Let me quote for you exactly what he said (you can read it
at http://yahoo.businessweek.com/investor/con...424_834757.htm)
Now, what USA320Pilot is trying to say is that LCC will make money (according to this analyst he's quoted) in the quarter. That's not what the guy actually said. "Excluding integration costs." Why do you think that is, USA320Pilot? Might it perhaps be that when the integration costs are included that there either won't be a profit or it won't be close to 10 cents/share?
Now, I'll ask again: When can we expect a quarter of unqualified positive EPS? Or, as 320Pilot quotes me (which should now seem almost gospel like to him, since the analyst he keeps quoting is excluding integration costs):
Note the fact that 320's analyst excluded merger costs? Why, oh why, would that be?
(The guy is suprised by the lack of problems over the last seven months, because nothing of any significant value or cost has actually been merged yet, short of painting a few airplanes)
Find a better quote to hang your hat on, or at least be intellectually honest about what the guy actually said.
BoeingBoy
Veteran
- Nov 9, 2003
- 16,512
- 5,865
Clue,
FWIW, the company's latest guidance - issued last week - anticipates $94 million in "transition" costs this year.
What McAdoo actually said (as opposed to what some insist he said) is:
"We have previously been concerned that US Airways would experience difficulties in the transition to the combined America West/US Airways. US Airways is now seven months into the integration of the two companies and we have been pleasantly surprised with the lack of major problems. Our conservatism in our price target which recognizes the integration process is ongoing and discounts the potential of some measure of merger problems in coming quarters."
As I think I mentioned in an earlier post, McAdoo is estimating a 1Q06 loss of 63 cents per share with profits in the remaining 3 quarters of 2006, resulting in a 9 cent per share annual profit. For comparison, First Call's consensus (as of 4/17/06) is a 1Q06 loss of 48 cents per share and a 2006 profit of $2.67 per share.
Jim
FWIW, the company's latest guidance - issued last week - anticipates $94 million in "transition" costs this year.
What McAdoo actually said (as opposed to what some insist he said) is:
"We have previously been concerned that US Airways would experience difficulties in the transition to the combined America West/US Airways. US Airways is now seven months into the integration of the two companies and we have been pleasantly surprised with the lack of major problems. Our conservatism in our price target which recognizes the integration process is ongoing and discounts the potential of some measure of merger problems in coming quarters."
As I think I mentioned in an earlier post, McAdoo is estimating a 1Q06 loss of 63 cents per share with profits in the remaining 3 quarters of 2006, resulting in a 9 cent per share annual profit. For comparison, First Call's consensus (as of 4/17/06) is a 1Q06 loss of 48 cents per share and a 2006 profit of $2.67 per share.
Jim
