"Frank Larkin, spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said only: ``There has definitely been an improvement in relations (since Creighton's ascension to CEO). Now we have to take advantage of that.''"
What? Maybe the employees, who already own a majority of the airline, need even HIGHER wages!
I'm becoming more convinced that Goodwin's analysis was correct - this airline is hopelessly spiraling out of control. The majority owners have all but given up on their investment, and want to grab as much as they can before UAL goes out of business.
Shares of United Airlines parent UAL Corp. fell 6.9 percent Wednesday in anticipation of a potentially huge third-quarter loss, dropping to a level at which the stock last traded when Ronald Reagan was in the White House.
In heavier-than-normal New York Stock Exchange trading, UAL shares slid 94 cents, to close at $12.72. Wednesday's closing price not only established a new 52-week low for the nation's second-largest airline, but also represented the lowest price for UAL shares since August 1986. In those days, UAL was still going by the name of Allegis, which it adopted temporarily in connection with a since-scrapped diversification drive.
Investors appeared Wednesday to be "trying to shield themselves from more bad news" Thursday, when UAL is expected to report its third-quarter earnings, observed Morningstar airline analyst Jonathan Schrader.
UAL also acknowledged that it's burning through about $15 million a day.
UAL's losses in the third quarter alone are deeper than its market capitalization of $710 million. Since January, the value of the carrier has caved a gut-wrenching $1.75 billion from $2.47 billion...
..."This company is one that is run by the unions, which really seems to be the crux of the matter," said Kevin Murphy, airline analyst at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.
Unlike its competitors, UAL is 55 percent owned by employees, most of who are members of the pilots' and mechanics' unions. Representatives of those unions sit on the company's board of directors.
UAL shares rose $2, or 14 percent, to $16.24 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange as the slumping airline company's stock continued to pull out of a long tailspin, helped by the government's aviation security overhaul.
The stock began the year at $38.94 but had plummeted all the way to a 14-year closing low of $10.33 last Monday.
UAL shares rose $2.48 to close at $16.72 on the New York Stock Exchange as the slumping airline company's stock continued to pull out of a long tailspin, boosted strongly by the government's aviation security overhaul and falling oil prices.
UAL, which has been rocked by heavy losses and liquidity concerns, has also recently been the beneficiary of some company-specific developments: The struggling airline cheered investors on Friday by disclosing it had bolstered its crucial cash position, and also had sharply reduced its near-term spending by pushing back the delivery date for scores of planes it has had on order with aircraft manufacturers.
UA rose 80 cents, or 5.6 %, to $15 after Credit Suisse First Boston analyst James Higgins urged clients to "buy" shares of parent UAL Corp. He took the stock off "hold" because he believes there is "more of a chance than not" that employees will cooperate with concessions to improve the carrier's cost structure.
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I wonder if Jimmy personally owns a lot of UAL and needs to boost it somehow?
Quote:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by doc: UA rose 80 cents, or 5.6 %, to $15 after Credit Suisse First Boston analyst James Higgins urged clients to "buy" shares of parent UAL Corp. He took the stock off "hold" because he believes there is "more of a chance than not" that employees will cooperate with concessions to improve the carrier's cost structure.
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You cannot uphold American ideology with un-American actions. It's time for change.
Be fair! Higgins is bullish on the whole airline sector:
"Higgins also reiterated his "buy" ratings on American Airlines' parent AMR, Northwest, Continental and Delta Air Lines. Recent visits with senior managements at those carriers, he said, "suggest early glimmers of hope about a 2002 recovery, a tone we expect to be apparent in most earnings release conference calls beginning on Wednesday."
