American (Airlines) US capacity reductions permanent

[phantom power]

"The airplanes that we're grounding are older generation planes," Horton said. "They burn 35 percent more fuel per seat than the new generation planes. So, when you ground those planes, it would be very difficult to bring them back, not just in operations cost but also in maintenance infrastructure."

He added, "So, I would characterize those as permanent capacity reductions."

http://news.yahoo.com/story//ap_travel/20080910/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_american_capacity

[excess_3]

1. Joyous news n/t

[alfrankenaynrand]

2. future of U.S. industries

The U.S. based airlines are in serious trouble. Safety will become even more of an issue as survival of the corporations becomes more uncertain. Federal regulation is probably the only way the industry can be saved. If we allow the major airlines to go through another round of bankruptcy, we will regret it. We cannot have a viable economy without air transportation. Surely we don't want Asia to be the carriers that we rely on in the future. The automobile companies are also about to tip over the edge. We cannot afford for them to fail, either. I don't have a suggestion for that one, but watch foreign governments circle the wounded U.S. companies. The Indian government has already said that they plan on subsidizing their auto companies. Maybe China will come to the rescue of Ford or GM. Will the U.S. government allow them to own one of them? Hard for them to say no and watch all of the workers lose their jobs. Got any opinions?

[Billy Burnett]

3. You must be a commie if you support regulation of an industry.

:sarcasm:

[phantom power]

4. I always have opinions.

I am like a white hole of opinions.

I am guardedly OK with the idea of bailing companies out, or subsidizing them, in theory. In practice, here in the US we do it all wrong. We socialize losses, while allowing incompetent CEOs to privatize profits. I would much rather let them all fail than continue to socialize losses and privatize profits.

I'm not real worried about Asia taking over our commercial air services. The airline industry world-wide is going to undergo a period of forced contraction, due to peak oil. Non-American companies are not going to be exempt from this.

I think that automobiles, domestic or imported (whatever the difference is anymore) are also going to play a diminished role in our future, also because of peak oil.

I believe that there are a lot of things that may "fail" in the future. If not disappear, then decrease. We will either adapt, or not, to what is coming, whether we think we can afford it or not.

[excess_3]

5. airlines --> environmental disaster

90% of air travel is frivolous

same, for air cargo

[Nihil]

6. "We cannot have a viable economy without air transportation"?

How much of the "viable economy" do you think comes from or
relies upon air transportation?

Airlines across the world are in serious trouble ... apparently
it isn't a problem unless the US ones have to pull in their belts?


> The automobile companies are also about to tip over the edge.

And they too will have to learn from the rest of the world in terms
of operating according to the current environment, not to the past
days of profit-rich myopia.


> Surely we don't want Asia to be the carriers that we rely on

> watch foreign governments circle the wounded U.S. companies.

Xenophobia much? :eyes: