Plus, United Airlines thinks business-as-usual corporate travel is over
The Boeing $BA machinists strike continues with no end in sight. Southwest Airlines made its case to investors that its current management should remain in charge during its turnaround effort amid a fight with Elliott Investment Management. United Airlines says business class travel as we know it is over. Plus, a ranking of the most satisfying big airports in America.
Take a moment to catch up on what’s been happening in the world of airlines.
Boeing $BA (BA) machinists are on strike, and that puts Boeing in a bind. The company’s stock fell about 4% in Friday trading because it needs them to put together its 737 Max planes, but the workers balked at a contract that offered them a 25% raise.
Although the productivity hit from Boeing $BA’s (BA) machinists being on strike remains clear, there is another complication lying in wait for the company.
Boeing $BA (BA) might be half of the global duopoly for commercial airliners, but there was a chance it could have been even bigger if a tie-up with Embraer (ERJ), a Brazilian commercial planemaker, had gone through. The incomplete deal has cost Boeing $150 million, Reuters reports.
As it struggles under the weight of an ongoing 737 Max crisis and a strike by its machinists, Boeing $BA (BA) has instituted a hiring freeze. In a note to the company’s employees Monday, CFO Brian West said that Boeing will be doing a good bit of belt-tightening.
Boeing $BA (BA) is making good on a threat to its workers made in light of its machinists’ strike. The company has begun furloughing workers as it faces a pause in production during the work stoppage.
The chief commercial officer of United Airlines (UAL) confirmed Wednesday that one of the airline industry’s biggest COVID-19-era shifts will be more permanent than initially imagined. Andrew Nocella said the company is leaning harder on its leisure customer base as businesses continue their cautious spending around travel.
JetBlue Airways (JBLU) is frustrated with the state of its Airbus (EADSY) jets. CEO Joanna Geraghty said Thursday that it is less than ideal to have engine problems sidelining essentially brand-new aircraft.
As the machinist strike at Boeing $BA continues into its second week, some analysts suspect the impact might show up in some unexpected places. Researchers at Oxford Economics believe the labor action could reduce the Labor Department’s monthly payrolls count by as many as 50,000 jobs.
Boeing $BA (BA) is sweetening the pot in an attempt to end a costly strike by its unionized machinists. The company announced Monday that it is revising its original offer — the 25% wage increase that members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted down last week — to a proposed 30% bump.
As the management team at Southwest Airlines (LUV) fights to maintain its control amid an activist investor’s campaign to replace it, there’s a large contingent of people whose jobs might be in even more danger. Southwest’s investor day is Thursday, and analysts believe that a big wave of layoffs could be coming no matter who gets to be in charge of the carrier’s turnaround efforts.
Boeing $BA (BA) isn’t done doing what it needs to do in order to live up to the expectations of the Federal Aviation Administration in the wake of a January door plug blowout. Administrator Mike Whitaker said as much to Congress on Tuesday.
The union representing Boeing $BA’s (BA) on-strike machinists is unhappy with the way the company announced its “best and final offer” for a new contract. District 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said as much Monday after the news broke of a 30% wage increase offer.
A showdown between Southwest Airlines (LUV) and an activist hedge fund investor is finally coming to a head. Elliott Management says it plans to call a special shareholder meeting to help it secure control of the company.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) is making some big changes as it tries to fend off an activist takeover threat. The company is cutting routes and jobs, according to recent media reports.
The union representing striking Boeing $BA machinists is criticizing the company’s efforts to rally support for a contract that workers deem insufficient. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) says that it wants to work toward an agreement at the bargaining table or nowhere.
Although Boeing $BA (BA) is still trying and failing to get its striking machinists back on the job, it has a few other corporate fires to put out. One crisis made worse by the work stoppage is the company’s dwindling supply of cash.
Southwest Airlines (LUV)’ management is making a case to stay in charge during its investor day Thursday, and one facet of its plan has the company’s shares surging more than 10%. Under pressure from an activist investor, the carrier authorized $2.5 billion in stock buybacks.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) outlined a number of actions Thursday that it’s taking to improve its business in the face of an activist investor campaign. CEO Bob Jordan also had words for Elliott Investment Management, the hedge fund mounting that campaign.
Boeing $BA (BA) is back at the bargaining table with the union representing its on-strike machinists. The company and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers are trying to reach an agreement on a new contract after a previous offer promising 25% raises was voted down by members, triggering a work stoppage.
As the Boeing $BA (BA) machinists’ strike stretches on, negotiations have hit an unexpected snag that goes beyond debates over current wages. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union representing the striking employees, is also seeking to restore a retirement benefit that ended a decade ago.
As a massive dockworker strike leaves billions of dollars worth of cargo stranded near U.S. ports, companies that transport cargo by air could stand to benefit. The supply chain logistics platform Flexport is telling their by-sea clients to consider the skies instead.
The massive port strike on the East and Gulf Coasts isn’t just affecting food and furniture shipments. The aviation news site Leeham News and Analysis noted that key U.S. facilities for Boeing $BA (BA) and Airbus (AIR) get their parts from ports that are currently shut down.
Often, going to the airport can be a hassle. But sometimes things go pretty smoothly: Security’s a breeze, your plane is on time, the facilities are clean, your pre-boarding meal is yummy. It all adds up to a pretty satisfactory experience. J.D. Power surveyed thousands of airport passengers and used the results to compile a ranking of the most satisfying airports among the largest ones in the country.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) just got a big endorsement of its turnaround plan — from the inside. Reuters reports that board of directors member Rakesh Gangwal, the founder of the Indian budget airline Indigo, purchased a $100 million block of shares of the company.
