grim04

And there it is......a fire sale. They want out so they are willing to sell some or alll. I.E. Some to alaska and some to JB. No mergers would come into play. Sweet.

grim04

I know right?

P-3Bubba

No doubt. Balls has got it right here. VX makes money when all is forgiven. They know its time to strike while they're making a few bucks. Capt. Luck, you're out of luck here. Is JetBlue the player? We'll find out soon.

I hope we're not.

Ive heard rumors that SWA wants JetBlue. Makes sense that jetBlue management would go after VX to save their own a$$es. You know GKelly ins't keeping the jetBlue gang together, and if a JetBlue/VX thing happened SWA would steer clear for a few years.


-Bubs

ShyGuy

Some as in the foreign entity ownership portion. VX is not 100% publicly owned. Branson's Virgin group has ownership too. It's the foreign owned portion that is getting some interest from Etihad and Hainan.

Not a fire sale.

Most JetBlue guys I know are top notch individuals, but a few here (like grim04) sound like complete tools. You're not any more special than the rest of us just because your airline came into existence literally 7 years earlier. I mean I'd get it if you guys had been around since the 1930s or 40s. But you are as new as we are, so get over yourselves. Your airline has 320s and RJs and we have 320s. There is nothing special about you that somehow makes you entitled to staple jobs or other screw jobs. I'd actually like to see this go forward - some of you will get aneurysms and stroke out.

flyprdu

JB d*uchebag vultures have come out of the woodwork today. Slow your roll, gentlemen. It's a growing market out there and you all are acting like it's a god-d*mn zombie apocalypse.

This is the most unfortunate aspect of merger... having to integrate with toolbags like yourselves.

grim04

Actually most guys I know and I've been here way longer than you are thinking exactly like I am. Man what the heck is wrong with you. 2007 then 5 to 1 or staple period. Jesus you're a tool and I'm embarrassed you fly for us. You should have stayed at mesa

ShyGuy

It's hard to tell if you are trolling, are just retarded, or being a tool.

IFlyEm

2007 then 5:1....So 50% of the VA pilot group is stapled to the bottom of your list? lol..ok

Capt Buck Lucky

I should probably bow out of this thread as the general quality of commentary is beneath me, but I will attempt to clarify once more.

The definition of "Fire Sale" from Investopedia: A fire sale consists of selling goods or assets at heavily discounted prices. Fire sale originally referred to the discount sale of goods that were damaged by fire; it may now refer to any sale where the seller is in financial distress. In the context of the financial markets, fire sale refers to securities that are trading well below their intrinsic value, such as during prolonged bear markets.

Now, let us consider the price of Virgin America, from a few days ago on 'The Motely Fool' finance blog: "Shares of Virgin America (NASDAQ:VA) were gaining altitude today on news that the company was considering selling itself. As of 2:58 p.m EST, the stock was up 13.7%."

So Virgin's stock price surged on the news of a possible buyout making it more expensive to buy, which is THE OPPOSITE of a "Fire Sale". Multiple parties including JetBlue and Alaska are rumored to be interested, meaning that a bidding war may well be under way for Virgin America, also the opposite of a fire sale. Incidentally the stock prices of Jet Blue and Alaska went up on the news, meaning investors view the possibility of a Virgin America acquisition by either airline as a positive development that would increase the acquiring party's value.

Virgin America may not have a bright future as a stand alone airline but that doesn't mean that they aren't currently in a position of strength to negotiate a strong price for the company or their assets. Fuel is cheap, credit is cheap and Virgin has been squeaking out a profit. If 'fire sale' prices are all Virgin can negotiate then the stakeholders have no reason to sell the company for a big loss at the moment. If Virgin was bleeding money, its operating cash reserves were drying up and its stock price was plummeting, then that would be a "Fire Sale". That is not the situation though. Fairly simple.

seekingblue

I hate to actually bring logic and reason into an anonymous message board. However, I've had a beer or two, so why not.

1) there is no definate merger. The only report has been one Bloomberg article with an anonymous source that has been sited in 50 other articles. These 26 pages of ranting and raving all hinge on 1 anonymous source in one article.

2) if (and it's a stretch) there is a merger, people with significantly more pull (and law degrees) will figure it out.

3) in any merger someone is really ****ed off. In a good merger, everyone is just a little ****ed off. It's better that way in the long run.

4) If you feel strongly about how a merger should go, discuss it with your union reps. There is no reason we should hate each other even before a merger (or acquisition) should occur. Let's at least give each other the respect we each deserve as professional pilots. Let the union reps make the enemy's. Not us common pilot folk. Should the merger occur, I look at going out with my crew regardless of which side he/she came from.

The last thing we need at a culture driven company, is decisiveness and dissent within the pilot groups.


Feel free to flame as needed. I'm back to the beer.