Airline Business Conference 06/19/08

[Doc]

What a high priced airline industry analyst said right there in front of God and everybody:

The only profitable airline is SouthWest, they make $4.16 per seat sold. This will change dramatically as their low priced fuel purchase options expire in the first quarter of 2010.

The other guys? AMR (American) loses $58 and UAL is in the red $64 per passenger seat. They are in a hole before they fly. This is based on fuel at $130 bbl (and before the recent annoying surcharges)

1/3 of United is parked on China Lake mothballed, even though US Carriers are flying at 92% capacity, they're most all losing money based on the fuel.

Lufthansa is more profitable than our 9 top US carriers combined. Not sure what that meant, but they are in the black at $11b/year versus $7b/year for our US Carriers.

Part of the huge spike in cost of oil in US Dollars has to do with our devalued currency. If Jet A Fuel increases by $30, it equates to a $10b/yr loss for our Airline Carriers.

Resolution? Government intervention and re-regulation, although not likely.

He told us a lot of other stuff, but my head was getting woozy.

Airline seats to paradise will likely be unavailable at any price.

 

[deco_martini]

Delta operates 1,632 flights per day with 55k employees (most of them nonunion)

Southwest operates over 3,400 flights per day with 34k employees (most of them union)

Could you imagine if an airline like Delta got its act together how much less it would be losing?

 

[deco_martini]

United operates over 3200 flights per day with 55k employees. Southwest operates more flights than that with 21k less staff.