JetBlue CEO David Barger says that not only have they not received a non-disclosure agreement from American Airlines nor any contact regarding a merger, JetBlue does not want to merge with American Airlines.

Under any circumstances.  Barger says that JetBlue sees its future as a successful independent and not bringing any value to the table in a merger with an airline such as American.

I agree.  Purchase of JetBlue is an asset purchase, primarily, where American Airlines would suddenly be free to try to operate JetBlue routes with a cost structure exceptionally higher than JetBlue’s.  Even after a successful, stand-alone bankruptcy exit, AA is unlikely to be able to operate at the same cost level of JetBlue or even close to it.  So how does it win with JetBlue routes?

I like JetBlue still but I do think the airline has stagnated considerably since the departure of David Neeleman.  In fact, I think that JetBlue has missed opportunities just preceeding and after American Airlines’ bankruptcy filing.  Opportunities that I think Neeleman would have gambled on and won.  That said, the airline is profitable, successful and operating in its niche acceptably.  Barger isn’t wrong about not adding value to an airline such as AA.

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Two senior QANTAS 747 pilots got into a heated argument over what data to input into a flight management system for takeoff.   This occured on the QANTAS flight from DFW to Brisbane August 14.  Ultimately, the flight was cancelled and set to take off the next day due to weather.  However, it was determined that these two pilots could not work together and a replacement crew was sent.  Both pilots are now suspended from duty.

Was this a safety of flight risk?  Possibly.  The environmental data one inputs into a modern flight management system determines things like take-off thrust and the speed at which an aircraft should lift off.  On shorter runways, this can be criticial.  On a flight like the DFW to Brisbane one, it is particularly critical since the aircraft will typically be fully loaded with a full fuel load.  The flight is the longest that a 747 currently flies and is at the very edge of the range performance for a 747-400.  On the other hand, DFW possesses runways that are extraordinarily long and even with a slightly incorrect performance calculation, a pilot would be able to adjust and continue the take-off or even reject the take-off if he/she sensed a problem.

But getting along in the cockpit is critical and this speaks to two pilots acting very unprofessional just prior to a flight where working as a team is what gets the aircraft to its destination.  A destination that requires crossing 6000 miles of Pacific Ocean.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax
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