I know it's been a while - Scary times for airlines

"Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!" (eurylokhos)
03/17/2020 at 09:04 • Filed to: None

Sorry I’ve been missing, Oppo. I’ve still been reading, but life has kept me from posting.

First a small garage update. Talked my father into buying a 911 this winter. He asked me what I would buy if I was going to buy what I really want, and I said a 997 Targa 4s. He proceeded to buy one. 2007, manual, 54k miles. I’ve been storing it this winter. White over tan wouldn’t have been my first choice of colors, but it is a fantastic car. Makes my 2001 C4 feel slow, but I prefer the overall feel and interior of my car. WIth the weather improving, he’ll be bringing his car home next week.

Time for some real talk.

If you know anyone who is an airline employee, don a containment suit (we must be safe here) and give them a hug. The amount of uncertainty in this industry right now is terrifying.

Pilots tend to need all the data. We spend our lives learning everything we can about aircraft systems, weather and rules and regulations. They are the things that keep us safe. Tim e s like this result in a complete lack of data.

I know that this is temporary. M y position on the seniority list, plus my wife having a great and stable job that more than pays all of our expenses really reduces our exposure. Also, we have not increased our monetary commitments desp ite making nearly twice what we used to make. We are really positioned well for this, but still, logic in the face of incomplete information isn’t helping.

I t’s eating me alive.

Be safe everyone.

DISCUSSION (17)

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/17/2020 at 09:31

My brother is a mechanic at UAL. He got furloughed after 9-11 and came back to work years later. He’s now in the middle of the seniority pack.

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/17/2020 at 09:42

It’s a par t of the industry, sadly. I just hate not having the info I need. How has this affected him? Planes still need service and weekly checks, as well as other time based checks, so I’d hope that he’s still be busy.

This would be much easier to deal with if the weather was warmer so I wasn’t cooped up in the house listening to my wife work and entertaining my son who has at least 3 weeks home from school.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/17/2020 at 09:51

My best friend is a captain at SWA, has pretty good seniority so I think he will be okay but this is going to be a serious gut punch. I have done three trips this year from FCA to SJC but don’t anticipate going anywhere until May at the earliest. My clients are very understanding thank goodness.

Ash78, voting early and often > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/17/2020 at 09:58

You wouldn’t otherwise hear me say this, but I hope the bailout is sufficient to keep the airlines going (most of them, I won’t name names!) .

On a philosophical level, cheap/accessible jet air travel is one of the main reasons we even have this problem right now ...but you can’t grind the economy and tourism to a halt, either. I can totally understand the need to reduce the cross-contamination that comes from moving potentially sick people all over the country at an inhumanly rapid pace (don’t get me started on the fundamental grossness of cruises...even in good times ) .

Good luck with the hunkering down!

jimz > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/17/2020 at 10:22

and lets make sure we spend billions of tax dollars on bailing them out since they spent most of their money on CEO-enriching stock buybacks.

Thomas Donohue > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/17/2020 at 10:31

From the WSJ......(emphasis mine).....

This crisis has only started....way to early to know how bad it’s going to get, but it’s already bad.

Senior leaders at Boeing Co. (BA) have been in talks with congressional and White House officials about financial assistance for the plane manufacturer and its suppliers, as part of a broader aid package for the aviation industry to cope with the impact of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unnamed company executive. “We can get the aviation sector back on its feet faster if there is assistance,” the executive said, according to WSJ. No further details were immediately available. U.S. airlines are seeking more than $50 billion in aid from the federal government, more than three times the size of the industry’s bailout after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/17/2020 at 10:34

Pay the workers some sort of unemployment, but tell the airlines to go fuck themselves.

DipodomysDeserti > Thomas Donohue
03/17/2020 at 10:44

So they learned nothing after 9/11.

Yeah, lets throw some more cash at them. After all, airlines always provide such great customer service and amenities ! And companies like Boeing are always looking out for our safety.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > Thomas Donohue
03/17/2020 at 11:17

I mean, after the 1.5T tha t went to the stock market, kinda seems like a drop in the bucket, no?

Maybe I’m biased because I like to take vacations on cheap flights (once this is all over) ....

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
03/17/2020 at 11:51

We would qualify for unemployment, same as any other industry.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/17/2020 at 11:57

Certainly tough times for the industry. But stuff like what’s on the front page is pretty infuriating given how lazy they’ve been with their money management and are now expecting government assistance.

I absolutely want the workers to be helped first - hopefully in the form of some kind of relief package to people. But if money does go directly to the hands of corporations it better be a loan at an interest rate higher than 7% (hey if we must pay that on student loans, only fair for fat cat airlines to pay that too right?) with agreement to not do any stock buybacks until all loans are paid off, and with long term plans to put in liquidity requirements on critical industries.

imadick > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
03/17/2020 at 12:00

But then how will the executives buy their new yachts? Please think of the poor business executives!! Lol, just kidding. They made enough off the backs of the workers, time for them to support the people that made them wealthy beyond imagining.

Thomas Donohue > DipodomysDeserti
03/17/2020 at 13:00

They learned the easiest lesson: The government will bail them out.

just-a-scratch > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/17/2020 at 13:11

I was talking with a neighbor who works for an airline. It sounded like the drop in passengers hurts, but cutting off the trans oceanic freight would’ve been death to the company.

That’s just to say, it must be tough right now.

functionoverfashion > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/17/2020 at 13:12

The thing I want most right now is a hug; thankfully small children give the BEST hugs. Dogs, too.

I’m another one working from home right now, as of noon today ; I was going to declare my intention when I got into work, only to find an email telling me to do so. I couldn’t get out fast enough.

The economic implications of this will be talked about for a generation. No one has seen anything like this, not in modern history, and maybe ever, with respect to how many countries are affected and so dramatically at that.

We, too, are pretty stable and not stretched thin, financially. But holy shit, it’s still scary and I know the majority of Americans aren’t so lucky. A few weeks without pay would be devastating to so many. I know it shouldn’t be that way, but it is.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!!
03/17/2020 at 23:16

I came off much more dickisk then I meant to. pissed off how my director is freaking out over the stock market, while ignoring everything at work and everyone.

Eury - AFRICA TWIN!!!!!!! > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
03/18/2020 at 11:56

My ini tial response might have mentioned that, lol. Don’t worry about it, we are all stressed out.

I got an email today that points to my pending unemployment, so stress is pretty hi gh here today. I am just sitting here thinki ng about the billions of dollars in stock buy backs my management did at over twice the price that the stock is currently going for, and how that money would have really helped keep the lights on. But no, they had to pull that bullshit, not pay any profit sharing that would have been nice for me to have in the bank now, and put us all in this situation.

Hopefully your director gets his focus back and your future is brighter than mine. Stay safe.