ndhapple

From a friend on Hunter Keay: "Hunter Keay has gone from 'you guys suck revenue is falling' to 'zomg shareholders demand your sweet sweet cash' in the space of two quarters. That guy is a complete dumb———"

(He was also the guy who suggested AA should start charging for soda last year because EVERYONE SHOULD BE SPIRIT).

For the same reasons that when UA attempted to buy USAir, it proposed spinning off USAir's DCA operation into DC Air — market domination.

The Justice Department is already challenging UA over alleged anti-competitive practices at Newark, I can't see them signing off on allowing UA to further expand its presence in NYC. Same goes for Alaska, you'd have one airline with a significant or dominating position in almost every major market on the West Coast (SEA, PDX, SFO, LAX).

jhayes_1780

******I have zero experience with institutional stock owners*******

But does Altimeter really swing any significant weight here (other then fodder for WSJ et al)?

My quick check shows they are 10th in instutional shares @ ual, and the top position holders are around 2.5x what Altimeter holds. Plus UAL makes up a significant portion of Altimeters holdings (they seem to be heavily vested in transportation).

Granted, they will sneeze more clout with UAL then I could ever have.... so compatitively: I am out.

But does the "declaration" mean anything?

BearX220

It's way past time for investors to light a fire under UAL's criminally neglectful BOD. But a shareholder revolt in the name of "value enhancement" doesn't pair well with UA's urgent need to reinvest in product and win back customers who will buy premium fares.

This is one of those times when the methods Wall Street prescribes to get what it wants ironically makes those goals harder to achieve.

Part of bold corporate leadership, whether you're Herb Kelleher or Craig Jelinek at Costco or whomever, is knowing when to tell the Hunter Keays of the world to get lost so you can build a sustainable company.

spin88

+100 This is exactly what is happening. Hunter did a lot of damage over the last 4 years with the "follow Spirit" chearleading and game plan he (and a few other street fools) pressed Jeff to follow. Now, with is lackey gone, he wants to strip out capital, to force a further diet on UA.

However, failure of his game plan has evidently not slowed him down.

+1000 Letting an undergrad Biz grad from Bucknell University run the show like Jeff did is a roadmap for disaster.

fly18725

I think people forget that sell-side analysts and management consultants are two very different groups of people that are not interchangeable. Sell-side analysts (or buy-side for that matter) don't work for the airline. They don't provide advice to the airline. They don't provide recommendations to the airline. They're much like FlyerTalkers: obsessively following every move an airline makes. Unlike FlyerTalkers, they have clients/investors who pay them for their opinions. Analysts do get to ask management questions 4-6 times per year.

I understand it's easy to read a pointed question and think the analyst has an ulterior motive to influence the airline's management. The thing is, neither party has anything to gain from that.

So, to summarize: analysts don't run the show.

P.S. I don't know what an ad hominem about education has anything to do with the point being made.

luckypierre

Mr Keay's question to Mr Munoz, although awkwardly phrased, didnt seem to me to have an ulterior motive. As a matter of fact, he was rather straightforward-will you commit to returning money to the shareholders for 2016 versus investing that cash in the enterprise to improve future prospects?

Fortunately it appears that Mr Munoz has a vision for UAL beyond 90 days.

entropy

I don't know why anyone would listen to a bozo with no vested interest in the company. Analysts aren't customers (more than any other customers), nor do they tend to actually own stock.

I certainly wouldn't pay some guy for his "analysis", its worth gornischt.

JetAway

Analysts are just that..."analysts." Nothing more. They research, write reports and, sometimes, are allowed to speak. They are not managers, investors or visionaries.

mahasamatman

No. It's just a ploy that some people use to try to get the board to listen to them. Any self-respecting board will just ignore them.

WineCountryUA

No completely meaningless -- believe any holder of 5% equity of a publicly traded corporation must file with the SEC and the corporate.