halls120

Not until 2020. Instead, they are buying 10 A330-300's which will be on the property 2015-2017. From SEA, they can reach Japan, Korea, the Philippines and China. And, I'll wager, those aircraft will have a much better dispatch rate than UA's 787s.

fly18725

So, basically you have no basis for your statement? It was a serious question: what's the difference between what Delta did and United's situation.

golfingboy

They also have 10 A333s on order and delivery starts in 2015.

The only bad thing about DL's Asia strategy [IMHO] is that they are working slowly to dehub NRT [rumored to be their most profitable hub and they have a strong FF base there]. They think that having a west coast Asian gateway instead of a hub in Asia is a better strategy and I digress.

The only problem with the de-hubbing NRT strategy is once you end a NRT-Asian City route, you most likely can't get it back.

ibuyyoufly

This is the wrong thread to have this discussion. I bent the rules by posting that info in the "Smiseked" thread.

I'll leave you with this, What did pmUA (not new UA because that's a CF) and now DL have in common?

I'll give you a hint, it has to do with Host/Off-Host, Development rights and Who, new Software Loads, Maintenance and Outages.

chitownflyer

Here is the United Deustche Bank presentation. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External...R5cGU9MQ==&t=1

EWR764

Fascinating that .7" is precisely the margin to avoid such horrors...

CO_Nonrev_elite

It's really just more of the same. They have been spouting this for 12 quarters. We are going to achieve X, Y, Z of profit, but no actual way to achieve it. For every $1 they save with a winglet, they lose $100 in pissing off a customer who'll never fly them again.

LASUA1K

Have you flown the 787? Thinner armrest is also added to the equation. The 787 is not comfortable and I'm not alone.

LarkSFO

Well, since it (333) was first released in 1994, it should be proven by now!

DL has 21 333's in service, plus 11 332's, so clearly they know the plane well.

I think DL's CEO has said 'I'll take a last generation proven and reliable plane over a new and uproven plane.'

tuolumne

Myself and most of my colleagues rather like the IPTE 767s....the first class is great, business is rather good, and the economy seats are extremely comfortable. I think we need to realize that the priorities of some people vary, and while you may judge this entire plane archaic because of small overhead bins, and a small looped television screen, others won't. The Y seats on the 3-class 767 are actually the most comfortable ones in the fleet, based on padding, width, headrest, etc. I always choose the 763 on my flights to Europe when possible.

NiceLanding

IMHO the Y seats on this plane were second only in comfort to the A320 seats (that were just ripped out), but then the 2-3-2 configuration made them the clear winner. This also has my favorite UA J seats except for the 747 upper deck because of the 2-2-2 configuration. The F suites are great, too, and far better than the CO BF seats that will remain long after all of the pmUA seats are scrapped. I just don't understand this "new, new, new" theme that's so prevalent these days.

Seat1A

the IP situations are similar. if you believe SHARES is a viable platform, you'd be an idiot to say anything different from what i heard on the call. and from the TONE of jeff's voice on that call, he clearly believes SHARES is a viable platform. zero question about that. difference of opinion on the viability of SHARES will drive comments on your question.

spin88

I listened to Jeff and John Rainy at the DB conference, and its clear they are totally out of touch. Its all puff, but still revealing. Call can be listened to here: http://www.media-server.com/m/p/7pvt2ojy

A few rough transcriptions:

Jeff: “this industry is consolidating, makes us stronger” This makes us an industrials company. Old management was focused on market share, “our goal is to grow below GDP”

Jeff: “What are we doing to improve our revenue?” “network” “restructuring our network, transferring passengers to ANA” “maintaining for reliability” “moving equipment to more profitable routes” “eliminate CLE” “we were taking too many bookings too early in the booking cycle, adjusted that, are seeing very good returns on that” Restructing front cabin fares (cheaper) to sell more paid F seats. “more upsells, dynamic pricing” “thoughtful investment in our fleet”

[The lack of any understanding of the push/pull factors impacting HVFers was just stunning. Jeff sees revenue as putting the right planes on the right routes and people will just flock to UAL. No discussion or mention of retaining customers, let alone winning them back.]

Jeff said that PMCO 50 seaters were not “customer pleasing” and were a “completive disadvantage” Mentioned adding 76 seaters.

Jeff said the new 739ERs were “better product” 787 is “magnificent airplane” and “customer pleasing”

“we are excited by the $2B in savings from Project Quality by 2017” Claimed savings of $500M this year.

Goal is “increase earnings 2-4x, increasing earnings each quarter moving forward.”

Q1: “you got deals with pilots/rampers, when will you be done with labor issues?” Jeff said there was a change in Union Leadership on the sUA side, and expects progress with new leadership on the F/A and Tech Opp side.

Q2: “ME carriers adding lots of flights” Jeff blamed the government for his problems.

Q4: “your guidance is +1-3% PRASM, we have seen other carriers of +6-7%, seems like things at UAL might be better than guidance, it feels conservative” Rainy “we are facing pressure in Asia, its why we discussed domestic on the 1Q 2014 call, which is more comparable, we are not satisfied with our performance, these things take time.” “we recognize where our relative performance, and will improve it”

[This was about when the stock tanked. UAL is sticking with its PRASM guidence of +1-3%, which means they are trailing DAL by at about 5%. This is really bad, and the call for "more time" suggests the under-performance will continue.]

Q5: Jeff “we own SHARES, its smart that DAL copied us”


Q_ “on the revenue side, can you talk about how United’s outlook is for the rest of the year? How do you view DAL’s growth in SEA as a threat”

Jeff: “our friends in ATL lack a gateway, LAX is fragmented, it’s a hub for no one, its why they are trying to create SEA” “the pressure on PRASM is in China due to more capacity, best way to compete is to have a good operation, and we have enormous focus on our customer service, candidly our predecessor company in Chicago put inadequate investment in its employees, and we are putting enormous investment in training them, they want to provide good service and we are giving them the tools”

Rainy: “a lot is made of the top line numbers, but China is one of our strongest markets, and we have a broad network, and we can move airplanes to match needs.”

[This question was from the audience, and that it again asked about revenue outlook says the earlier non-answer was not enough. That Jeff and Rainy both dodged the question says it all. They have no plan, and will continue to underperform the industry badly]

cesco.g

Thanks for the summary, spin88! ^
Wow, just W-O-W. What does it take for those guys to see reality?

ryman554

Two observations, if this transcription is true...

Which came first -- transferring pax to ANA, or the pressure in Asia? Explain to me how the former is not directly resulting in the latter.

I would like fastair (or other friendly pmUAer) to comment on this.

1. Were you really un-invested in (other than, say, in salary!) as a pmUAer?
2. Did you feel that, as a pmUAer, that you didn't have the tools to do your job sucessfully?
3. Do you honestly feel today you have the tools in front of you to do your job sucessfully?