PlaneBuzz

One of the side effects of watching too much football over the holidays is that you also get to see a lot of Southwest Airlines' commercials -- the result of Southwest being an official sponsor of the NFL.

Interestingly, most of the spots I've seen over the last two weeks have been older "wanna get away" spots.

However, there was one spot that did not fit.

I had read that the airline planned to roll out a new advertising/marketing campaign in support of their new "business traveler" push this next week, as part of their BCS Bowl series sponsorship.

Well, last week, I think someone either goofed in spot scheduling at one of the networks -- or there was a deliberate early look scheduled of a commercial that appears to be tied to the new, as yet unveiled Southwest Airlines campaign. The commercial, which was a little strange, pointed viewers to a web site.

Wanna see the site?

Here you go. Don't say I didn't give you anything for Christmas.

BeMoreProductive.com.

Yes, you can see a video of the same commercial I saw on the site. There is absolutely no ID on the site that ties the site to Southwest Airlines-- but I don't think I was hallucinating when I saw "Southwest Airlines" in small print on the ad when it first ran.

I'm mute about all of this for now -- need to see how it all fits together this week. But clearly the concept is that flying the "new" Southwest will make you more productive.

Guess I need to send the New Orleans Saints on an "around the country" tour on Southwest if that is the case.

Oh well. There's always next season.

Ticker: (NYSE:LUV)

Posted by Holly at 6:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Oh, my gosh. Are the holidays already almost over?

Alas, I do believe they are. Alas, this also means my brief respite from commenting on the trials and tribulations of this wacky industry we love for some strange reason is coming to a close.

Sniff. Sniff.

Yes, airline fans, PlaneBusiness Banter will return later this week, after our usual holiday hiatus.

And, if PBB is back, that means I'll be hanging around here again.

Woo hoo!

But not before we watch more football.

Hey, we have our priorities straight.

But you know, some things just call you back home.

And today, a full page ad in the Chicago Tribune had that siren call effect on yours truly.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been rather amused at how the mainstream media, for the most part, has taken the United Airlines public stance on the airline's continuing problem of cancellations -- and run with it.

Yes, well, those of us in the industry know better, don't we?

I think we only need to go back to this summer and the problems with Northwest Airlines to understand the blueprint for what has been going on with United the last week or so.

It's pretty simple. This is what happens when you have crew scheduling set with no margin of error, you add a little dash of bad weather, and you have a management team who, unfortunately, assumes that it will be able to count on a lot of pilots "volunteering" to fly more during the holidays.

Right.

This isn't just about "bad weather."

Given what said management team has done for the employees at the airline the last couple of years -- I find it hard to understand why no one in management at United would not expect what we have seen happening at United.

And in case some people needed a bit of help in understanding this -- the United Airlines' pilots ran this full page add in today's Chicago Tribune.

Hap, I say, Happ, I say, Happy New Year Everyone!

Ticker: (Nasdaq:UAUA)

Technorati Tags: airline industry news, airline unions, ALPA, United Airlines

Posted by Holly at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love Wiley Miller's Non Sequitur comic strip.

This strip today is not that clear because of its extreme width, but yes, that's the "No-Fly List" the helpful TSA agent is holding in his hand. Merry Christmas everybody!

Posted by Holly at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We all saw this coming didn't we? Especially after the airline recently halted trading in its shares on the Alternative London Stock Exchange. The company said at the time that it was "seeking new financing," but with oil reaching new all-time highs -- this shutdown should not have come as a surprise to many.

Still -- it's Christmas Eve. Not a good day to shut the doors and file for Chapter 11. Then again, I guess no day is a good day.

The airline is to be commended however, for trying to take care of its passengers.

According to press reports, and based on what the airline has posted on its own website, "MAXjet has contracted with Eos Airlines for seats on Eos’ scheduled all-Premium service to accommodate passengers awaiting a return flight between New York and London. Passengers needing return travel between London, Los Angeles and Las Vegas will be contacted regarding their flight re-accommodations. Any customers who choose to make flight accommodations directly should seek a refund from their point of purchase (credit card or travel agency) for the unused leg of their journey. We have also secured hotel rooms in London, New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles through early January 2008 which we will provide to affected passengers whose travel plans have been disrupted."

Technorati Tags: airline industry news, MAXjet

Posted by Holly at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Someone wrote me yesterday and accused me of being grouchy in my last post.

I wasn't being grouchy. Was I?

Well okay, here's some "uplifting" travel-related comments from my recent foray to Dallas.

The new boarding procedure at Southwest? It works. I have no complaints. Although it seemed to work better at Love Field -- maybe because the gate agent reminded folks that there was no longer any need to stand in line in advance. In New Orleans, the entire gate area decided to try and figure out where they were supposed to stand, way before the folks had even deplaned from the aircraft that had just landed. Made for more of a "cattle call" experience than in the past.

But nah, I thought the new boarding system at Love Field worked quite well.

Mesa Air Group Set to Release Fourth Quarter Results Dec. 28

Other miscellaneous notes of interest before we sign off to go work on Christmas-related ventures -- as we reported last week in PlaneBusiness Banter, Mesa Air Group had not filed its 10-k for fiscal year ending Sept. 30, nor had they asked for an extension. By our calculations, last Friday was the deadline.

Friday, the airline did ask for an extension. Then yesterday the airline announced that it will release its fourth quarter results and hold an earnings call to discuss those results next Friday, Dec. 28.

Nothing like releasing earnings during a dead period of the year. Much less on the Friday before New Years.

Interested listeners will be able to access the call at http://www.mesa-air.com. A replay of the call will be available at 1-800-282-7027,

11:00 a.m. ET.

Flight Caps, Auctions, and More Military Airspace Access

Meanwhile, the DOT announced today what we had all anticipated -- it says it is now working with airlines to come up with a plan for "voluntary" flight caps at both Newark and JFK International Airports. The DOT also said today that it also expects to auction off new slots at Newark and JFK (this could get interesting) and that the U.S. military has given its okay to allow commercial air traffic in selected military air space up and down the East and West coasts, in an attempt to ease flight delays.

Show Us Your Tails

The WSJ reports today that the rudders of about 420 older Airbus aircraft are being subjected to

repetitive ultrasonic and other enhanced inspections, "the first time airlines and safety regulators have resorted to such recurring, high-tech procedures to determine the integrity of composite parts on airliners already in service."

The story continues,

"The stepped-up inspection program, recommended by Airbus months ago and then reaffirmed by the European Aviation Safety Agency through a mandatory directive, calls for the first enhanced rudder checks to be completed within six months or 500 flights. Some inspections on certain planes must be
repeated every 1,400 flights, a relatively short compliance schedule for checking structural integrity of primary flight structures.

The enhanced inspections, including ultrasound, X-rays and other techniques, stem from a March 2005 incident in which an Air Transat Airbus A310 suddenly lost its rudder over the Caribbean while flying from Cuba to Quebec. There were no injuries, and the plane returned safely to Cuba. But as a result,
the plane's manufacturer, Canadian air-safety investigators and European regulators began investigating what, if any, additional inspection requirements were necessary to safeguard the integrity of such rudders used on early model Airbus aircraft.

While the changes primarily affect a relatively small number of older twin-engine A300s and A310s, they nevertheless represent a significant break from longstanding Airbus-developed maintenance standards for composite materials. Before the incident, Airbus, a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., and European regulators maintained that simple visual inspections, combined with a mechanic's manually tapping on the surface of the composite rudders, were adequate to detect any potentially hazardous internal flaws or structural weaknesses.

But now for the first time, high-tech inspections methods are being required -- and must be repeated during the life of a what Airbus described as a "limited number" of Airbus jets -- to assure long-term rudder integrity. A spokesman for Airbus U.S. operations said only a small number of affected aircraft are flown by U.S. carriers. Spokesman Clay McConnell said about 400 A300 and A310 aircraft are covered by the added inspections, along with 20 wide-body Airbus A330 and A340 jetliners. Mr. McConnell said Airbus changed its rudder-manufacturing process before the 2005 incident."

Tickers: (Nasdaq:Mesa); (NYSE:LUV)

Posted by Holly at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Or something like that.

Hey guys. Just walked in the door of the Worldwide Headquarters. Was in the airline capital of the world, Dallas-Ft.Worth this weekend -- and well, let's just say I was not as "connected" as I usually am.

Speaking of the Dallas Metroplex, how many folks have experienced the "newly redesigned and upgraded" baggage claim area at Love Field?

Did ringers for American Airlines infiltrate this project in an attempt to make life for Southwest Airlines' passengers miserable?

I landed at Love Field Friday afternoon and I have never seen such a mess. The new electronic signs that were supposed to tell you which belt your bag was on were not working right. After waiting patiently at the area under the orange electronic wonder board that said, "New Orleans," you guessed it. No bag.

I finally grabbed one of the folks wandering around with a clipboard -- and he informed me which belt the bags were on. No, this was not the belt that had been under where it had previously said, "New Orleans."

Then again, by this time, "New Orleans" was nowhere to be found on any electronic screen.

Sigh.

If there was anything that was more dependable in this wacky industry than the baggage claim area at Love Field, I don't know what it it used to be. More often than not, your bags were there before you got there.

Is nothing sacred?

When I asked the young man with the clipboard, (frankly I didn't note whether he worked for the airport or Southwest, but I believe he worked for the airport)  why the boards were not working correctly, I was told, "Well, you know...... it's raining."

I let it go. What that had to do with the electronic boards not showing flights correctly I'm not  sure. I guess the wiring gets wet and the boards then short out? (Okay, yes, I'm being smart ass. Don't send me notes and tell me how this is not a possibility!)

But that comment came back to bite me later when I opened my bag to take out the clothes I was going to sleep in.

You guessed it.

They were soaked.

Ugh.

Talk to you guys later. I'm off to unpack, read a slew of emails, and hopefully watch the Bears beat Minnesota. (Playoff implications for the New Orleans Saints forcing my hand in this one.)

Posted by Holly at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Subscribers to PlaneBusiness Banter can access this week's issue here!

Posted by Holly at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hey gang. Look for us tomorrow. We'll be posted fairly early in the day -- so our East Coast readers will have plenty of time to print and run as they leave for the weekend.

Talk to you then!

Posted by Holly at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We were just told from a reliable source that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris has denied Mesa Air Group's request for a new trial in the case involving Hawaiian Airlines.

As they say, more at 11.

Posted by Holly at 9:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

JetBlue has now made it official. Lufthansa is taking up to a 19% stake in the airline. Have more questions? You can can them answered this afternoon by listening to a webcast by JetBlue. The call will be held at 4:30 ET. You can listen to the call live at the JetBlue's investor relations web page.

For those unable to listen to the live webcast, it will also be archived on JetBlue's investor relations website under 'Audio Archives' following the conference call.

Ticker: (Nasdaq:JBLU)

Posted by Holly at 2:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Analyst Bill Greene with Morgan Stanley just issued a research note on the JetBlue/Lufthansa report.

Here is some of what he said.

"JetBlue needs liquidity: If this story is correct, the deal would help JetBlue's balance sheet. As we noted in our report on 12/12/07, JetBlue has $433M in current debt payable, but will be hard-pressed to fund from cash flow from operations or cash on hand.

However, such a deal would likely substantially dilute current shareholders. We assume that to raise this cash Lufthansa would be buying a stake at some discount to the recently-quoted prices.

It's not clear to us what Lufthansa gains from such a transaction. It may be that Lufthansa wishes to ensure access to JFK and by taking a stake in JetBlue, Lufthansa ensures that it will have slots if the FAA reimposes them at JFK. Lufthansa has a similar small stake in British Midland, which has helped ensure Lufthansa access to London's Heathrow.

This possible investment doesn't change the fundamental story, but clearly helps near-term liquidity. As we noted yesterday, JetBlue faces growing revenue and cost pressures and at $90/bbl will have difficult generating sufficient cash flow to fund its growth plan - even with an investment from Lufthansa. Growth opportunities are diminishing, in our view. We remain Underweight. In fact, such a deal could make JBLU a less plausible participant in US consolidation."

Ticker: (Nasdaq: JBLU)

Technorati Tags: airline analysts, airlines, jetBlue, Lufthansa

Posted by Holly at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And I quote, from the New York Times:

"Lufthansa is in talks to buy a stake of just under 25 percent in JetBlue Airways, the discount airline, people briefed on the matter told DealBook on Thursday.

An announcement could be made as early as Thursday after the markets close.

The interest from Lufthansa, which is based in Germany, is the latest example of foreign investors leveraging the strength of the euro against the dollar. By limiting its stake to 20%, Lufthansa would remain below federal limits on foreign ownership of a domestic airline. Though the investment will be passive, these people told DealBook, it opens up an opportunity for Lufthansa to make a bigger deal down the road, possibly some kind of partnership."

Excuse me while I shake my head.

Now, unless I've missed something, aren't United Airlines and Lufthansa still the big founding partners of the Star Alliance? Yep, I do believe that is the case.

Can United be happy about this?

Ticker: (Nasdaq:JBLU)

Technorati Tags: airlines, jetBlue, Lufthansa

Posted by Holly at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier today we pondered on just how low airline stocks were going to go today.

Well, now we know the answer and it's not pretty.

First, to give you a hint of the extent of the carnage, the price of oil was up more than $4 a barrel today. Yep, that's what happens when the Fed turns on the easy money spigot.

Crude closed today at 94.39.

If you think that's bad, take a look at these stock performance numbers for the day.

US Airways -- Down 13%. Closed: 15.31
American Airlines -- Down 7%. Closed: 16.63
Continental Airlines --  Down 10%. Closed:  24.23
Northwest Airlines -- Down 9%. Closed: 16.20
JetBlue -- Down 6%. Closed: 6.25
Alaska Airlines --  Down 4%. Closed: 25.46
United Airlines --  Down 6.5%. Closed: 36.48
Delta Air Lines --  Down 8%. Closed: 15.74.
Frontier Airlines -- Down 3%. Closed: 5.66.

Only a few airline stocks posted a gain today, with ABX Air taking the top honors. The beleaguered cargo carrier picked up a cool 8% today, closing at 5.11.

Ticker: (NYSE:LCC); (NYSE:AMR); (NYSE:NWA); (Nasdaq:UAUA), (Nasdaq: JBLU), (Nasdaq: FRNT); (NYSE: ALK); (NYSE: DAL);(NYSE:CAL)

Technorati Tags: airline stocks, crude oil, wall street

Posted by Holly at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Looked at your favorite airline stock today? It's ugly. Again.

Once again, oil goes up and airline stocks go down. As of this writing, oil is up about $2, trading at around $92/barrel.

Eye-opening stock price for the day? JetBlue. Shares, as of about 11:30 CT, were trading at $6.51.

But the biggest loser so far today? Shares of US Airways. Interesting thing here is the volume. The volume in LCC  trading has already hit its daily average, and we're not even at 1:00 ET yet. Very heavy volume, and as of this writing, shares are now down 9%, trading at around 16.05.

Interestingly, Delta Air Lines' shares are having another rough day as well, and are also very active.

Shares here are down 7% as of this writing, hovering around the 15.91 mark. Again, as I said, very heavy volume here as well.

While volume is not as heavy in trading of Northwest Airlines' shares, the drop is just as bad. Shares here are now running down 7%, at around 16.51.

As for that hoped-for "bump" in the share price of United Airlines -- that $250 million shareholder giveaway bump was pretty short-lived. Shares here are running today down 5%, at 37.09.

Ticker: (Nasdaq:UAUA); (NYSE:NWA); (NYSE: LCC); (Nasdaq: JBLU)

Technorati Tags: airline stocks, airlines, jetBlue, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways

Posted by Holly at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've been researching the various advertising options for the Buzz of late, and basically, for small niche players like us -- the mega-Google click-through advertising platform is never going to provide any serious level of revenue.

But while we may go with a very limited type of sponsorship at some point - one thing I am never, never, NEVER, going to do is embed advertising in the text of this blog. If you ever see advertising hyperlinks embedded in the words of this blog, you can be assured that something drastic has happened. Like -- I have nothing to do with it anymore.

Now, I have seen tasteful inserts of the oh-so-present Google code. You know, inserts that don't look like orphaned white text blocks of obvious advertising links plopped down on a page.

But I'm talking about trying to read a post online where words are highlighted in the actual copy -- and those hyperlinks open up little advertising windows.

I just went over to TheStreet.com, and that may be the last time I do.

Been over there lately? Think those highlighted underlined words that populate a story are links? No. Oh, they are links. But they are links to pop-up advertisements. And just an errant mouse movement on the part of you, the reader, causes these things to mushroom all over your screen.

What an annoying new bright idea this is.

I've already come to the point where I will only visit Forbes.com if it is absolutely necessary -- as a result of the jam-packed code heavy in-your-face advertising onslaught you hit every time you try and access a story -- usually highlighted by those oh-so-obnoxious Ken Fisher video advertisements.

Almost as annoying as the thought of cellphone use on airplanes.

Well -- maybe not that bad. But close.

Posted by Holly at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi guys.

Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that going on today at the Worldwide Headquarters.

Just received an email that was sent by Henry Harteveldt, big cheese travel analyst over at Forrester Research. Now, you might ask, so what? Well, Henry was on JetBlue's Beta Blue flight today. He sent the message from the airplane. The airline is rolling out a somewhat limited wireless connectivity offering for passengers today. I say limited in that you won't be able to surf the web or open attachments in your email. And, you will be limited in the types of email accounts you can access.

But hey, give them an "A" for being the first ones out of the gate. In this week's PBB, I said I wasn't going to get excited until they rolled out the Version 2.0. But as long as the airline is making it clear that this is a "beta" test -- then more power to them.

I am all for being able to message and check email while crossing the country. I think that would be great.

I just don't want to hear anyone yaking into a cell phone. No. Never. No way.

Good thing Henry was flying coast to coast, and not into or out of the Midwest. Yes, it's nasty out there folks. Really nasty. Ice nasty. I mean snow is one thing, but ice -- not good. More than 20 people have now died as a result of this latest ice storm making its way across the country, and I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of folks are still now without power in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Yep, Chicago -- you've seen the weather maps. You're about to get hit.

Be careful flying out there. Surprisingly, delays at ORD are currently not that bad. We'll see how things hold up as the weather deteriorates.

Speaking of deteriorating, this afternoon we're also watching with interest the gyrations in the stock market.

The Federal Reserve did what most of us market junkies thought it was going to do today. Big Ben and his band of merry men and women announced they were cutting the its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point. This brings the rate down to 4.25%.

But the decision doesn't seem to have made anyone happy.

The dollar continued to lose ground this morning, in anticipation of another cut, (investors overseas are not very happy with the Fed's continued moves, and as a result, the dollar continues to get hammered) and this afternoon Wall Street clearly took the approach that a quarter of a point was not enough -- as stocks have now staged a nice protest following the news of the rate cut. Yes, many were hoping for a half of a point cut.

How is all this affecting airline stocks?

Well, that's another problem.

The more the dollar drops, the more traders feel inclined to bid the price of oil up. Looks like the price of a barrel of crude is going to be up a little more than $2 for the day. It's hanging around $90 and change.

This then translates into lower prices for airline stocks.  Almost all of the sector is down for the day as of this writing -- as the AMEX Airline Index is down about 5%.

Yes, it's ugly out there today. In more ways than one.

Ticker: (Nasdaq:JBLU)

Technorati Tags: airline stocks, airlines, Ben Bernanke, Economy, Federal Reserve, jetBlue

Posted by Holly at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It never fails to happen. I'm in the last throes of putting together an issue of PlaneBusiness Banter and a piece of news comes into the email box, or comes over the telephone that is so totally distracting that it then makes it very difficult to finish the issue at hand.

Today was one of those days.

The piece of news? That United Airlines has received the okay from some of its debt holders to essentially "give away" $250 million to shareholders in the form of a "special dividend." But wait, it gets better.

This is just the first giveaway. The airline has authorization to "give away" another $250 million.

I really don't have the words to describe how absolutely horrific I think this news is.

With United Airlines, you have an airline management team that enriched itself after an extended stay in bankruptcy at a level that far exceeded anything else ever seen before in this industry.  Essentially the same management team that took the airline into bankruptcy in the first place.

Now that same management team -- the same one that also convinced a tottering bankruptcy judge and the PBGC that it was incapable of paying its pension obligations -- that same management team is going to give away $250 million to its shareholders.

And not a dime to its employees.

Oh, it is not that I am not aware of "why" the airline has chosen to do this. But I guess I just never thought they would actually do it.

All I can say tonight to the management team at United is this -- good luck.

Good luck getting your employees to do anything -- anything -- above and beyond what is minimally required of them.

Good luck in expecting those same employees to provide the level of service that you keep saying is going to be part of your "premium product offering."

Good luck in attracting any of the best and the brightest in this industry who might be considering a position with your company.

Good luck in your misguided efforts to "maximize shareholder value."

Last time I looked, the airline industry is still, no matter what CEO Glenn Tilton or CFO Jake Brace, or the Board of Directors at United Airlines seem to believe -- a service industry.

But if these people think that providing the best passenger service can ever be a possibility after this latest slap in the face to every United Airlines' employee -- they are solely mistaken.

United management -- you've made your decision.

United shareholders -- I hope you enjoy your $2 and change dividend.

United employees -- good luck.

Ticker: (Nasdaq:UAUA)

Technorati Tags: airline industry news, airline stocks, airline unions, airlines, United Airlines, wall street

Posted by Holly at 5:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

This week's issue of PlaneBusiness Banter is now posted. Subscribers can access this week's issue here.

Posted by Holly at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, it's Friday, and we've been up and at 'em early today, as we put the finishing touches to this week's issue of PlaneBusiness Banter. Subscribers  -- I'll be back here to let you know when this week's issue is posted.

in the meantime, for those of you who have already finished your holiday shopping, written your Christmas cards, and prepared your menu for Christmas eve, how 'bout some light reading this morning as you have your third cup of coffee?

Great.

Here's just the thing to go along with that coffee. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, along with airline industry executives and various local transportation officials, unveiled 100 recommendations yesterday in a 32 page report. The Flight Delay Task Force says in the report, among other things, that if 27 of its initiatives were implemented quickly, delays at the New York area airports, which are climbing to new records, could be reduced by next summer. The entire list of suggestions, if put into practice, would create capacity for an additional 3.5 million passengers at Kennedy International Airport without additional delays.

Clearly the major difference between this report and its recommendations -- and the proposals currently coming out of Washington center around the issue of reducing the number of flights into the three area airports.

According to the Task Force report, this is not necessary.

Click here to download a .pdf copy of the report.

Posted by Holly at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After Lufthansa walked away from a potential deal to take over Italy's long-suffering Alitalia this morning, Air France/KLM officially picked up the slack -- saying that it will make an offer for the airline.

This places Air France/KLM in direct competition with Italian airline Air One.

As Reuters reported today, "An Air One takeover would keep Alitalia in Italian hands but there has been doubt over whether the smaller airline has the wherewithal to turn around an airline with a long list of woes. The Air France-KLM choice would make Alitalia part of the world's biggest airline by sales but at a sharp discount to its share price and with potentially unpalatable job cuts."

How long......has this been goin' on?

Who was it that sang that song?

Posted by Holly at 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, I guess this means I'll find another lawsuit from Jonathan Ornstein in my mail box, but what the hell.

I mean, if I can't talk about the news, then I guess I might as well move to Russia. Oh, that's right. That's all I was doing before -- and I still got sued.

Okay, somebody's got to see if the First Amendment is still valid.

Today Herb Greenberg, who writes a column for MarketWatch.com, appears on CNBC's Squawk Box, and who used to be a fellow columnist with me when we both wrote for TheStreet.com -- came out with his choice of the worst CEO for 2007.

Needless to say, given the financial hijinks of a number of financial sector CEOs this year, Herb's pool of potential candidates was deep and wide.

But instead of one of the investment or financial nominees, Herb chose Eddie Lampert, Chairman of the Board of Sears as the Worst CEO of 2007.

Okay, so what does this have to do with anything airline related?

Because while Mr. Lampert was the recipient of Herb's top award, a nice chunk of his diatribe this morning on CNBC concerned another CEO who we are all more familiar with. That CEO? Jonathan Ornstein of Mesa Air Group.

As Herb said in his column today on MarketWatch,

"Away from financial services, Mesa Air's Jonathan Ornstein received the most write-in votes by employees, investors and employees of competitors. (It was an impressive, concerted campaign.) Not only does the company suffer the lowest margins and boast the worst-performing stock among regional airlines, with "skyrocketing" pilot attrition (per an Air Line Pilots Association press release), but it recently was embarrassed after a judge ruled that Mesa must pay $80 million to Hawaiian Air for using confidential, proprietary information to start its inter-island Hawaiian competitor, "go!" (Mesa says it plans to appeal.)"

If you'd like to see Herb's animated stint on CNBC this morning, where he also talked about Mr. O in less-than-flattering terms, you can watch here.

Ticker: (Nasdaq:MESA)

Technorati Tags: airline CEOs, Jonathan Ornstein, Mesa Air Group

Posted by Holly at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From Trebor Banstetter over at the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram's SkyTalk blog today:

And, if that isn't enough to convince you that the pilots over at AMR are in a festive mood, check out the American Airlines' Dancing Elf Executives. Okay, so you too can go to the OfficeMax site and make your own version, but I have to admit, this is pretty funny to crank up.

Here's just a brief snapshot of what you're missing.

Posted by Holly at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Rather major news out late today from the same Calyon Securities conference we referenced earlier today.

Northwest Airlines CFO Dave Davis told analysts today that Northwest Airlines' flying for DHL Express will end late next year.

DHL Express is the airline's largest cargo customer.

As some of you know, the cargo business at Northwest has already been posting rather anemic results over the last year or so. But this is not an easy situation for the airline to remedy. One, Northwest is the only major U.S. airline to have its own dedicated cargo fleet. Two, a major chunk of the airline's cargo business takes advantage of  Northwest's exclusive rights to the Pacific. No way Northwest is going to give those up.

Interesting predicament.

Tickers: (NYSE:NWA)

Posted by Holly at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Calyon Securities is holding an investor conference in New York this week, and today there was a chorus of airline executives who basically said the same thing -- 2008 is not looking good.  For that matter, neither is the fourth quarter of 2007.

Delta Air Lines' CFO Ed Bastian told the conference that operating profit for the airline is now forecast to come in flat to down 2% for the fourth quarter, down from the 3%-5% increase the airline projected as recently as mid-October when it presented its third quarter earnings call.

In response to the declining numbers, Bastian told analysts today that the airline now plans to institute a partial hiring freeze, it now plans to increase the number of job cuts, it is cutting its marketing budget, and it is installing lighter seats and winglets on some aircraft to improve fuel efficiency.

Bloomberg also reported today that the airline will also "considerably'' reduce U.S. seating capacity by returning some leased planes. For next year, Delta now plans to cut U.S. capacity by 4% to 5% while adding 15% to international flights.

Bastian told the conference that fourth-quarter fuel costs may rise to as much as  $2.60 a gallon, 9.2% higher than its previous estimate. The carrier paid $1.73 per gallon at the beginning of the year.

As for Southwest, CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement today that the airline now plans to reduce its 2008 capacity growth to 4% to 5%. This  is the third announced reduction in 2008 capacity plans for the airline.

"We are concerned about growing evidence of slowing economic growth that would inevitably affect passenger demand, coupled with a surge in energy prices,'' Southwest Gary Kelly said today.

The airline said that it will now take only seven to nine new Boeing 737-700 aircraft in 2008, down from its original plans, which called for an increase of 34.

Meanwhile, Continental is also slowing its growth -- again. The airline said today that it is now looking at a capacity increase of only 2%-3%, down from its last forecast for 3% to 4% growth.

As for United -- CFO Jake Brace said matter-of-factly today, "We see no business case to grow domestically."

Tickers: (Nasdaq:UAUA), (NYSE:CAL), (NYSE:DAL),(NYSE:LUV)

Posted by Holly at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Out the door for my usual Sunday sojourn with my Dad, but couldn't help but stop in here for a quick byte.

If anyone has ever witnessed a college football season like the one we just saw, please raise your hand.

I thought so.

Posted by Holly at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)