Us Airways Strategic Analysis

[Industry Observer]

These managers do a good job at what the company is giving them. You should stop complaining about the management to employee ratio and just do your job. PITMTC is the only person that makes any sense with the IAM issues. I can't say the same about the IAM "lapdog" 700UW.

 

[AP Tech]

These managers do a good job at what the company is giving them. You should stop complaining about the management to employee ratio and just do your job. PITMTC is the only person that makes any sense with the IAM issues.

I agree with PITMTC on many issues as he has been on both side of the fence. As for doing my job, I will always give 100% when asked!!

But back to the original question...why 5 managers for 2 aircraft? I always thought you need something to manage before you require a manager? A few years back with a mixed fleet 1 manager ran the hanger?

 

[pitguy]

The PIT management team will be changing shortly. You will like some of it, but not all of it.

 

[700UW]

First of all the Planners are an IAM covered position on the same contract as the Mechanic and Related.

Second a union contract does not cover managment staffing. I agree it is wrong they have not cut managment. But a union cannot force the company do that.

The planners job description is in the contract, take the time to read it.

And pitmtc statements are cloudy at best, and I am no lapdog, I am not in agreement with everything the IAM does.

 

[usair_begins_with_u]

I always like to look at the statement of cash flows... Earnings/net income are a joke, way too easy to manipulate.. even inside the bountries of 'sox'. Cash flow on the other hand is pure.

You have cash flow from operations, cash flow from investing, and cashflow from financing. The only thing that matters is cash flow from operations. Everything else might as well be fiction.

Anyone have the 2Q statement of cashflows?

You cant make cash apear or dissapear like earnings...

 

[sfb]

According to new reports, in his weekly recorded message, US Airways’ CEO Bruce Lakefield said costs had "declined substantially" and that more operating savings would come from "synergies" of the merger. For instance, the corporate headquarters will be relocated from Arlington to Tempe starting in October and the move should be completed by the end of the first quarter resulting in about a $30 million annual savings. Last Friday, the airline closed its Pittsburgh reservations center, leaving Winston-Salem as the company's only in-house call center. Of about 800 workers based in Pittsburgh, only 47 are moving to Winston-Salem and most of the rest took buyouts or retired.

Only a single set of costs have "declined substantially" year-over-year -- and that is labor. Fuel was up (as for everyone), US Airways Express capacity purchases were up 11%, aircraft maintenance was up nearly 25%, and US Airways nebulous and customarily huge "other" expense item was up over 10% to $308 million -- over 15% of revenue.

Looking forward, US Airways said it expects system capacity growth to slow from just under 5% in May and June to less than 1% in the third quarter. It also said it is seeing positive yield trends and as a consequence expects positive system passenger RASM performance year-over-year in the third quarter.

Near-flat system capacity for the third quarter means that mainline capacity will be down by a few percent -- not surprising given the planned returns of leased aircraft. Management should be credited for doing more with less, here, since the increase in mainline ASM's this quarter was achieved in spite of a decrease of 6% in the fleet.

It is worrisome to me that the company will become more and more dependent on high-cost regional flying -- though the Express business did show a positive 1% operating margin in the quarter (mainline was between plus three and four percent).

The only major airline that posts monthly RASM figures is Continental. According to Lehman Brothers, they expect the following July results:

-- Continental’s July RASM should increase 4 to 6%, thus there should be strong revenue gains.

-- The brokerage firm said, "We continue to expect very strong revenue comparisons during the summer months as we expect current revenue trends to continue against easy comparisons in the prior year period (especially August and September).

-- "We believe the ATA composite will see double digit RASM gains for the quarter," airline analyst Gary Chase said.

The Continental and ATA revenue projections seem to echo comments made by US Airways in its earnings press release and should provide additional revenue with crude oil prices trading at about $62 per barrel.

Continental's RASM for July was up about 5%, but there is absolutely no evidence that US Airways will see a similar improvement in unit revenue. In the second quarter, CAL saw mainline RASM increase 6.3% while system RASM (including ExpressJet) was up 6.0%). In contrast, US Airways' mainline RASM declined 4.8% in the same quarter, while system passenger RASM was down 5.5%.

The message is that the RASM improvements at Continental last quarter were not seen at US Airways. In fact, RASM comparisons at US are likely to remain difficult with DH depressing yields in IAD and DCA, not to mention FL at CLT, WN at PIT for the full quarter (and still growing at PHL), and NK building up at FLL. It is not necessarily a given that US will see the same improvements in yield or RASM as the rest of the industry. Yields are still well above the company's peer group average, making US Airways' route system an attractive target for growing LCC's.

 

[usair_begins_with_u]

Profitability
Profit Margin (ttm): -1.99%
Operating Margin (ttm): -0.48%

Management Effectiveness
Return on Assets (ttm): -0.47%
Return on Equity (ttm): -46.38%

Long Term Debt/Equity 8.47

Who is this company??

This looks bad.

 

[eolesen]

Ever hear of SOX? Or Sarbanes-Oxley? Means that "Creative Accounting" is much more difficult now.

[post="285254"][/post]​

I'm not an accountant, but I don' t know if SOX t really applies here as long as the expense is being accounted for, as opposed to being hidden or not reported at all.

Go look at quarterly filings for several carriers, and you'll see that some have very little under "Other Expense" and others have it as one of their largest expense lines. I can only guess it's permissable under GAAP.

 

[justaumechanic]

The PIT management team will be changing shortly. You will like some of it, but not all of it.

[post="285369"][/post]​

You are so funny. PIT management in Mtc is going to change.. Right. And the sun will not come up tomorrow. Its BS. That pig fest has never changed.

Do you think for one min Gary is going to give up his role as leader of PIT? HA guess again.. He's their hero, ask anyone including him. He will tell you how great he is. Ask John or Paul or Louie, they kneel before him every single day and praise him for his super leadership and management skills.. Rocket Scientists all.

You are right though. The leadership will change. PIT will close and they will all be out on the street except for Gary. He will have a nice little job in PIT making sure that the hangar stays clean for the new owners. You can take that to the bank.

 

[pitguy]

justaumechanic check your PM.