THE POLICY AND THE FORMER
SPIRIT AIRLINES CEO, BEN, WHAT
DO YOU THINK OF THIS?
AND THIS SEEMS TO BE A
WIDESPREAD AIRLINE INDUSTRY
POLICY.
COOL IT OR YOU’RE JUST NOT ON
OUR JETS?
>> IT’S GREAT TO BE WITH YOU,
NEIL.
THANK YOU.
I LIKE THIS POLICY A LOT.
I THINK IT MAKES A LOT OF
SENSE.
I THINK IT KEEPS PASSENGERS ON
AIRPLANES SAFE.
I THINK IT KEEPS CREWS MUCH
SAFER.
THERE’S NO REASON FOR PEOPLE TO
ACCOST FLIGHT ATTENDANTS,
ACCOST OTHER CUSTOMERS ON THE
AIRPLANE OR ATTACK PEOPLE IN
THE AIRPORT WHETHER YOU AGREE
OR DISAGREE, WE CAN ALL BE
CIVIL.
NEIL: YOU KNOW, THESE ARE VERY
DIFFERENT TIMES.
YOU COMBINE THIS WITH THE COVID
FEARS AND NOW AIRLINES ABROAD,
THAT ARE CRACKING DOWN ON THOSE
WHO FLY TO THIS COUNTRY,
REQUIREMENTS NOW BEING THAT
THEY HAVE TO MAKE SURE THEY
TEST NEGATIVE FOR THE
CORONAVIRUS BEFORE THEY STEP
FOOT IN THE UNITED STATES, BUT
IT COULD BE ANOTHER REASON FOR
PEOPLE TO SAY, DO I REALLY WANT
TO FLY PERIOD?
ARE YOU WORRIED?
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, I’M ACTUALLY
THINKING THIS MIGHT HELP PEOPLE
BECAUSE I THINK IT’S MORE
LIKELY WHEN PEOPLE SEE SOME OF
THE TERRIBLE IMAGES YOU JUST
SHOWN -- THAT YOU’VE JUST SHOWN
THAT MAYBE IT’S NOT A GOOD TIME
TO BE ON AN AIRPLANE BECAUSE
MAYBE THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN
TO ME AND I CERTAINLY DON’T
WANT TO GET ACCOSTED AND I
DON’T WANT TO BE ON A FLIGHT
THAT GETS DIVERTED OR SOMETHING
LIKE THAT.
SO, I THINK WHEN CUSTOMERS SEE
THAT THE F.A.A. IS PUTTING OUT,
ABOUT UTH PUTTING THIS OUT IT’S
MORE LIKELY TO DETER THIS TYPE
OF BEHAVIOR.
I THINK ALL ELSE, SOMEBODY
MIGHT SAY IT’S PROBABLY OKAY TO
FLY NOW BECAUSE THE LIKELIHOOD
THAT SOMEBODY’S GOING TO MESS
IT UP IS PRETTY BALLSMALL. NEIL: AND BEN, YOU KNOW, AND
NEIL: AND BEN, YOU KNOW, AND
DELTA, AND THE QUARTERS, ANDOTHE
SAYING 2020 WAS A SHOCKER.
AND 2021 BY COMPARISON.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE FOR
BUSINESS, FORGETTING GETTING
BACK TO WHAT IT WAS, BUT
GETTING APPRECIABLY BETTER THAN
WHAT IT IS.
>> IT’S GOING TO TAKE A WHILE.
I EXPECT 2021 TO BE BETTER, BUT
THAT’S A VERY LOW BAR.
THE FIRST CHALLENGE FOR THE
INDUSTRY IS TO GET BACK TO A
CASH NEUTRAL OR GENERATING CASH
POSITION AGAIN.
MOST AIRLINES IN THE U.S. GO TO
BED EVERY NIGHT WITH LESS CASH
THAN THEY STARTED WITH THAT
MORNING IN THE BANK.
AND THAT’S A VERY BAD,
DANGEROUS FINANCIAL POSITION
FOR THE INDUSTRY TO BE IN.
BY BRINGING MORE CUSTOMERS
BACK, BY BEING DISCIPLINED ON
CAPACITY DEPLOYMENT, AND OTHER
THINGS, THE INDUSTRY
POTENTIALLY CAN GET TO SORT OF
A CASH NEUTRAL TIME THIS SUMMER
AND ESPECIALLY IF WE SEE A
LITTLE BIT MORE VACATION TRAVEL
THIS SUMMER.
FROM THERE, THEN THE ISSUE IS,
HOW DO WE BRING BACK THE
INDUSTRY INTO A PROFITABLE
SUSTAINABLE KIND OF INDUSTRY
AND THAT’S LIKELY TO TAKE A
COUPLE OF YEARS, NEIL.
NEIL: IS THAT RIGHT?
THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO
THAT, BEN.
YOU THINK ABOUT IT, I WAS
LOOKING AROUND, THEY’RE GIVING
AWAY FLIGHTS TO FOLKS.
THE AIRLINES CANNOT BE MAKING
MONEY ON THIS AND IT’S HAD SORT
OF AN TEPID EFFECT ON THE
OVERALL DEMAND.
SOME PEOPLE ARE TAKING
ADVANTAGE OF IT, BUT NOT NEARLY
ENOUGH, BUT THEY’RE GETTING
ZOOMED BOTH WAYS.
>> THINK ABOUT THE INDUSTRY IF
SOMEBODY IS APPREHENSIVE TO
TRAVEL AND THEY GET A REALLY
GOOD DEAL, BUY ONE, GET ONE.
OR A REALLY GREAT FARE OR
SOMETHING AND FLY AND HAVE A
GOOD EXPERIENCE.
THEY FEEL SAFE IN THE AIRPORT,
SAFE ON THE AIRPLANE AND THEY
COME BACK AND TELL FRIENDS, I
WAS NERVOUS, BUT I WENT AND
FLEW, THAT’S A POSITIVE THING
FOR THE AIRLINES.
GETTING PEOPLE ON THE AIRPLANE,
HAVING THEM EXPERIENCE IT, IT’S
OKAY TO FLY, THAT IT’S SAFE TO
FLY AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A PLACE
TO GO, THAT’S A REAL POSITIVE
THING, TOO.
>> DO YOU THINK -- I KNOW THE
AIRLINE INDUSTRY GOT SOME, YOU
KNOW, CARVE-OUTS IN TNOT THE
LATEST PLAN FROM JOE BIDEN,
ALTHOUGH I’M NOT AWARE OF THE
LATEST DETAILS.
HOW LONG CAN IT LAST?
ESPECIALLY SOME OF THE WEAKER
PLAYERS FOR WHOM THIS MONEY IS
VITAL TO KEEPING PEOPLE FROM
BEING FIRED.
BUT FOR ONLY SO LONG.
>> WELL, THE LATEST, THE LATEST
VALUE THAT WAS GIVEN TO
AIRLINES WAS ALL ABOUT
EMPLOYMENT, AND IN FACT, IT
REQUIRED THAT AIRLINES THAT HAD
FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES BRING THEM
BACK AT LEAST UNTIL THE END OF
MARCH, AND IN THAT CASE, YOU
HAVE EMPLOYEES AT PLACES LIKE
AMERICAN AND UNITED THAT HAVE
BEEN BROUGHT BACK TO WORK, BUT
REALLY DON’T HAVE THAT MUCH TO
DO BECAUSE THE AIRLINE ISN’T
FLYING AS MUCH.
SO, THAT WAS KIND OF AN
INTERESTING POLICY, I THINK.
ONE OF THE THINGS DELTA SAID ON
THEIR CALL, I’M GUESSING YOU
HEARD THIS, NEIL, THEY EXPECTED
THAT DELTA WAS GOING TO BE
ABOUT 15% SMALLER IN THE LONG
RUN.
>> YES.
>> AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS AN
INTERESTING SIGNALING TO THE
INDUSTRY AND I THINK THEY WERE
SAYING FOR THEMSELVES, I THINK
THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN SENDING A
MESSAGE TO THE INDUSTRY SAYING
WE ALL NEED TO BE THINKING LIKE
THIS.
>> YEAH, WE’RE ALL GOING TO GET
SMALLER WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR
NOT.
BEN, ALWAYS GOOD CATCHING UP
WITH YOU.