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Are the Airlines Colluding—or Just Careful?

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US Airlines have been profitable lately. This strange development has set off alarms among people in Congress who think aviation should be a charitable activity. (reason.com) Mais...

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WALLACE24
WALLACE24 6
Congress has been in epic FAIL mode for a long time. They have fixed nothing. They can't even control the federal agencies for which they have oversight. Now they magically feel the need to fix an industry that isn't broken? How about fixing the government first?
preacher1
preacher1 3
The old saying of " people that live in glasses shouldn't throw stones". There is Bible for that but I didn't want to start preaching. I remember years back, a friend of mine took over a textile mill down the road and plant efficiency was about 82%; after 6 months, it was at 98%. Some personnel changes and some equipment but at least they were making money. Most airlines are public corporations and shareholders demand a return on their investment. If the government is going to holler collusion, like I said below, let them buy them up, charter AMTRAK AIR and send a check.
preacher1
preacher1 1
You going up to Sparta this weekend or staying home and watching TV?
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 1
I'll catch it on tv. Going to a classic car auction today.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Roger that. I'm not crazy about night races. Hard now for me to stay up that late. LOL
preacher1
preacher1 1
Any of that wx get to you or close to you last night?

WALLACE24
WALLACE24 1
Missed us. Had all we need.
preacher1
preacher1 1
That's good
preacher1
preacher1 3
If we want another AMTRAK, send them money and rules. If they don't, then shut up.
watkinssusan
ok..thanks "preacher"..i enjoy this site as an old airline person myself..my opinions are my own and related to my knowledge of the business..i stay interested for that reason..seems like airlines and all things aviation don't just fade away from your mind!the articles referenced on flightaware are always interesting and do produce many comments and differing opinions..have a good day sir....
watkinssusan
preacher..i know I just replied to one of your earlier comments,but since you mentioned it here, I thought I would tell you just this last week there was an interview on tv with Donald trumps private 757 pilot who gave a tour of the aircraft and he stated how much he enjoys his job.. he is in charge of overseeing that everything is just perfect in and around the aircraft for trump,including some recent interior "redecorating",as well as flying the plane...
...
preacher1
preacher1 1
I heard about that. I'd like to find it and maybe see a re-run of it. I had a similar job for 36 years, with 23 of them being in a 757,as director of flight ops. Big fancy title for basically being the go to guy. LOL. BTW, look at the radar block emblems on FA for Delta and you will see DAL and you will see UAL for United. I hear where you are coming from but am just sayin' about this
watkinssusan
preacher..your statements might be less confusing to those reading if you used the right codes for both the airlines and the city..dal is not delta airlines,but dallas love field..dl is deltas code..con is not the old continental,but co..united airllines is not ual but ua..you might be referring to the stock market ticker tape codes,but the ones used for ticketing,flights, and airline information purposes are different...and yes,xna is a valid airport code..what you did not mention is the fact that envoy,formerly American eagle,is a composite of regional feeders with smaller aircraft that fly in and out of places like xna,under the header of american,as do united express and deltas feeders..the airlines have all pulled back in recent years on the larger jets in small markets and gone to feeders because the larger aircraft were better served in larger markets..the feeder carriers such as envoy have even pulled out or cut back in smaller communities where the service was just not profitable..even southwest who flies only 737 has cut some flights in domestic cities in order to expand to international destinations...the government is "reaching" by investigating collusion..all they need to do is study the history of the airlines since the 70's to understand how it works, and they also might try to remember the "feds" approved all of the mergers that have occurred,as well as the bankruptcies..airlines are corporations and corporations are businesses with shareholders who want profitability...
preacher1
preacher1 1
Well, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. Cut an old man some slack on the Airline codes, force of habit I guess, but I'm not the only one. While everyone knows how the regionals are structured, 2 of the DL flights are 737 which are definitely not Delta Connection or otherwise and at last check, there were a couple of MAD DOGS in/out of XNA as 1 or 2 of those flights turned to LAX so not all are Eagle. Yes I know all about Envoy of today and how they screwed the Eagle pilots. AA was one of the last to keep regional in house as a wholly owned subsidiary, with a clear promotion path to the mainline carrier, but a lot did not want to make the change because the money was decent and they liked regional flying. Along came T Horton and the bankruptcy. They tried selling Eagle outright but no takers so they have just piecemealed it down to nothing and taken a tax write off on it. Eagle is still alive, now named Envoy but operating that piecemeal regional contract as well as some of their own routes. I think they will play hell finding any collusion and waste a lot of time and resources in the process.
preacher1
preacher1 1
I just wonder how it would be as Donald Trump's pilot, flying that 757.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Well, I think they are just optimizing everything according to market. DAL is down to 1 per day out of FSM to ATL and points beyond from 3, and AA is down to 3 per day from 6-7 from FSM to DFW. However, AA is 7 at XNA to DFW and DAL is 9 to ATL. They just shift resources to go with the market. FSM lost a major industry a couple of years ago and traffic just dried up. Northwest AR has grown leaps and bounds and besides FSM O&D, all the folks out of Northwest AR were coming through FSM up until 10-11 years ago when XNA opened.
watkinssusan
there are passenger groups with a lobby in Washington that feel the flying public is being "gouged" by the airlines who are, as has been stated here,finally making money..the baggage fees and all of the other mini fees were added at a time a few years back when the decision makers with most of the airlines were looking for another money inlet..this has proven to be a big money maker for them, and the passengers have not liked it...there really is no "collusion" among the carriers..they simply say, ok if ual does it, then we should also,whether its a a fare hike or a fare war..it has been that way for decades,long before the mergers and acquistions of the past 30 years..and if someone cares to check their next ticket ,there is a sizeable portion of a fare that is federal tax,local airport tax, landig fees,and in some cities an entrance/exit fee..all of which are mandated an not the airlines doing...
devsfan
ken young 1
XNA?....I checked a site that shows the three letter codes. There are none on the list that begin with "X"
preacher1
preacher1 1
Browse Flight aware by airport:

XNA KXNA Northwest Arkansas Rgnl Fayetteville/Springdale/ AR Airport and FBO Information (XNA) Flight Tracker (XNA
devsfan
ken young 1
Despite the fact that fuel is much less expensive than it was a few years ago, some states offer tax subsidies on aviation fuel. Here in NC, the state govt was going to end that tax break...AA sent in an army of lobbyists. The tax break remains.....
i think the issue that bugs people the most is when carriers match fares on competing routes. IMO that is a 'questionable' agreement.
saso792
saso792 1
Wal-Mart, gas stations and hundreds of other stores will match prices on same product too but I don't hear any fuss about that.
jaymeinen
jaymeinen 1
The airlines are FINALLY consistently making money. They aren't expanding just to increase market share. Margins are still thin. The government taxes them mercilessly. Yet somehow they're COLLUDING? Give me a break.
preacher1
preacher1 1
After how many bankruptcies and mergers in order to get to the point of making a little money, and they are colluding?
wx1996
wx1996 3
I wonder why the government is not going after Apple, with a profit margin in the mid 30% range. Or several of the Health Insurance companies that are also in the 30% range. Why do thy think the airlines must be punished and receive special taxes for finally having a low single digit profit margin?

You let Delta continue to run a profit and maybe just maybe the Delta of old may start to return. With real service and southern hospitality. You can see it already with the employes you meet when we fly, they are not as cold, planes are cleaner, and the machine is starting to work better.
bentwing60
bentwing60 1
Because they have never had the money to buy all the crooked pols.
kthurley
K H 1
Well perhaps the airlines should build their own airports and ATC system. The fees and such the airlines pay don't begin to cover those expenses.
preacher1
preacher1 2
I'll be like that like I am by the highway trust fund. It would come a lot closer if they did not raid the fund for projects that did not contribute anything to it. Even that would be OK if it would replenish but instead everyone just says they don't pay their way. Several years back the Hiway trust fund got raided to pay for some mass transit project somewhere and all that has been heard since then is that they don't pay enough into it. Air is about the same, with particular regard to landing fees. They are just a big blob of money sitting there for local entities and they grab and go, then scream bloody murder when it comes time to redo a taxiway or heaven forbid a runway.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Well, let's see here: DAL and NWA merger and bankruptcy in about 2008. UAL was on verge of it before it and CON merged. AA just came out of Bankruptcy before it merged with US Air, which still had issues remaining from it's bankruptcy. Probably missed something here but the point of all theses mergers and Bankruptcies was to get them in position to make a little money, and now that they are, Uncle Sugar is hollering collusion. Can't nobody run at 85% efficiency and make money. Problem is that pax got used to that empty space and are now bitching because it ain't there. They are even having to block out or bump now to accommodate company DH.

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