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This Week in Airlines
by Holly Hegeman (MF Wings)
Dallas, TX (March 16, 1997) -- Friends and investors in the Motley Flock, this past week saw some of the Motley Flyers take off stratospherically. Overall, the week's performance of our winged friends was, as Martha Stewart would say, "a good thing." Of course, if you have been a regular reader of MF Wings for the last year or so, you will know that the time between the first of the year and the end of May is the time, historically, when the airline sector has some of its best moments. If you did your homework and picked your stocks carefully the end of December -- then went out and actually BOUGHT them -- well, Foolish friends, your conscientious research should now be paying off.
But first, some general market news.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56.57 points on Friday to 6,935.46, in a volatile day of trading, regaining about a third of Thursday's 160-point drop. This drop was caused mainly by the release of strong February retail sales data Thursday morning. This type of news just drives those boys nuts in the canyons of Wall Street as it stirs up fears of inflation and higher interest rates.
The Dow ended the week down 65.43 points.
As we have discussed in the past, Wall Street is one extremely reactive place, and you could certainly see this in the action of the markets on Thursday and Friday. As we said, Thursday's monumental sell-off was triggered by an unexpected surge in U.S. retail sales. While the rise suggested a surprisingly robust economy, most analysts said the market's reaction was overblown. This assessment seemed pretty much on the mark as on Friday, news was released that showed a surprisingly big drop in wholesale prices in February. This news helped eased concerns that the Federal Reserve would raise rates in an effort to ward off inflation. The Fed meets on March 25.
We had six Motley Flyers turn in double-digit returns this past week. Yes, you read that correctly -- double-digit returns in one week.
PAN AM <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(AMEX: PAA)") else Response.Write("(AMEX: PAA)") end if %>, which MF Wings' thinks has the tell-tale earmarks of the new momentum player in the sector, gained a scorching 34% last week, as the carrier announced new routes, and a new reduced-fare program for middle of the week travels. The stock ended the week at $10 3/4.
TWA <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(AMEX: TWA)") else Response.Write("(AMEX: TWA)") end if %>, which seems to benefit anytime a new conspiracy theory is discussed in the media about the cause of the crash of Flight 800, gained a hefty 21%, ending the week at $7 3/16. TWA also announced the appointment of William F. Compton to the permanent position of exectuive vice-president of operations, subject to approval of the TWA Board of Directors. Compton has been serving on the board as the designee of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). He will relinquish this position. Compton has been employed at TWA since 1968, and has been a member of the board since 1993. He is currently an MD80 Captain. My sources tell me this is a good move.
FRONTIER AIRLINES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FRNT)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FRNT)") end if %> announced on Friday that it had asked the Department of Transportation for an exemption to the "slot" restrictions limiting air service into New York's LaGuardia Airport. Frontier said it wants to schedule three daily nonstop flights in each direction between its Denver hub and LaGuardia if the waiver is granted. Needless to say, these flights would offer an alternative to United Airlines' current monopoly on this particular route. (As you readers are aware, and as we have discussed in the past, Frontier has now filed two complaints against UAL with the Justice Department, alleging that United has engaged in "predatory, anticompetitive, and monopolistic practices" at Denver International Airport.)
UAL, as expected, has called the charges "groundless."
Well, I, for one, think this is a gutsy move for Sam Addoms and the folks at Frontier. He can't just sit there and not go after the big boys. If he adopts that strategy the airline will just gradually fade away. While there are certainly risks associated with this move as well, I think it is a shrewd and well-thought out maneuver. You can bet your frequent flyer miles that UAL will not be able to REALLY go after them by adding capacity and lowering fares drastically on this route, if Frontier is given an opportunity to fly it. United may say the charges are "groundless", but the DOT is listening. Apparently Wall Street agreed with MF Wings -- which ordinarily I would be wary of -- as the stock gained a hefty 20% on the day Friday, and ended the week up 17%--closing at $3 3/8.
ATLAS AIR <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ATLS)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ATLS)") end if %> was on the move this week as well, as the cargo carrier gained a nice 15% on the week, to close at $23 1/2. If you remember, Atlas lost 30% of its value when its 4th quarter earnings came in two pennies less than expected and when they also let it be known that their first quarter earnings were going to be flat. As we said at the time, we felt that nothing substantial had changed with the company and we thought it represented a buying opportunity. MF Boring, the illustrious creator of the Boring Portfolio of the Motley Fool just could not stand it anymore himself -- and, for those of you who don't know -- he has now purchased shares of Atlas Air for the Boring Portfolio.
USAIRWAYS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: U)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: U)") end if %> also had a hot week, as the carrier was the beneficiary of several nice analyst upgrades. The stock ended the week up 13% to close at $25 3/8.
I will say something right here about USAirways stock. The stock always has, and I guess always will, just flat-out mystify me. When you run the numbers on this one, you get chills. Yes, their costs are going to be lower than expected this quarter due to mild weather in the east. Yes, there are high hopes that Stephen Wolf will convince the employee groups to "come to their senses" and sacrifice their first borns, (or at least their future incomes) for the good of the company, and yes, their plans for a major "airline within and airline" seem like a good idea at this point. But, Foolish readers, there is a LOT between here and THERE in my Foolish opinion. This stock has just scorched the charts for the last two years. And, now it seems in no mood to stop anytime soon. USAirways' YTD performance in 1995 was 231.25%, 1996 it was 76%, and this year it is already up 9%.
Warren Buffett was talking about USAirways this week, as he discusses his "fatal mistake" of investing in the company in his chairman's message in this year's Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report. [MF Wings' Note: For the first time you can access the Annual Report including Buffett's chairman's message by going to http://www.berkshirehathaway.com. He will also now be posting future quarterly reports on there as well.]
And I quote, "My analysis of USAir's business was both superficial and wrong. I was so beguiled by the company's long history of profitable operations, and by the protection that ownership of a senior security seemingly offered me, that I overlooked the crucial point: USAir's revenues would increasingly feel the effects of an unregulated, fiercely-competitive market, whereas its cost structure was a holdover from the days when regulation protected profits."
Speaking of which -- thanks to one of our regular readers, Blucore -- here is an interesting chart to think about.
Below is a chart of the latest labor percentage figures for the majors. The data is for the year ending in the third quarter 1996. The first two columns are in cents per available seat mile. Percentages are calculated in the third column.
Total Operating Labor as % of
Expenses Labor Total
Alaska 8.08 2.47 30.57%
America West 7.90 1.78 22.53%
American 9.34 3.20 34.26%
Continental 9.27 2.09 22.55%
Delta 9.52 3.12 32.77%
Northwest 9.14 2.92 31.95%
Southwest 7.39 2.33 31.53%
TWA 8.71 2.55 29.28%
United 9.23 2.86 30.99%
USAirways 12.33 4.70 38.12%
Just a couple of interesting notes here. One, yes, no matter how you slice it, USAirways has its work cut out for it. But, there are two other interesting stocks to look at here. Guess which two? Yep--America West and Continental. If you were an investor in these companies, what would these numbers tell you?
Speaking as one who has been admittedly high on Continental, it explains the flattening out of the stock, for one thing. If you remember, the stock has been downgraded by several analysts of late, and, Foolish investors, here you can see the numbers behind some of that reasoning. The thinking is that the employees will now want more of the pie, so to speak--the pilots in particular. That and the fact that Continental will be hit with a big income tax bill this year. The company has avoided having to pay corporate income taxes up until now, but well, those days are now history. The feeling in some quarters is that the great earnings growth phase the company has been in has to slow down.
In America West's case, you have to see some unpleasant side effects here as well. America West is not nearly as flush as Continental is, and has been plagued by rancorous union/management relationships for the last several years. Well, the numbers tell the story here as well.
Our last double-digit gainer on the week was RENO AIR <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: RENO)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: RENO)") end if %>. Reno -- which was a Foolish Fave last year-- gained a nice handsome little 10% last week, closing at $7 1/2.
Here is a wrap-up of the rest of the week's activity, which saw the vast majority of our Motley Flyers enjoy a great week.
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CAI/B)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CAI/B)") end if %> was up 8% to close at $32 1/8, SKYWEST AIRLINES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SKYW)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: SKYW)") end if %> was up 8% to close at $13 1/2, NORTHWEST AIRLINES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: NWAC)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: NWAC)") end if %> gained 8% to end at $40 7/8, ALASKA AIRLINES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ALK)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ALK)") end if %> was up 7% to close at $26 1/2, AMERICA WEST <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AWA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AWA)") end if %> was up 5% to close at $15 1/2, UNITED AIRLINES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: UAL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: UAL)") end if %> was up 5% to close at$ 69 7/8, WESTERN PACIFIC <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WPAC)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WPAC)") end if %> was up 4% to close at $6 1/2, AIRTRAN <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AAIR)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AAIR)") end if %> was up 3% to close at $4 3/4, AMERICAN AIRLINES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AMR)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AMR)") end if %> was up 3% to close at $85 3/4, MIDWEST EXPRESS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MEH)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MEH)") end if %> was up 3% to close at $35 5/8, VALUJET <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: VJET)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: VJET)") end if %> was up 2% to close at $8 1/16, DELTA AIR LINES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: DAL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: DAL)") end if %> was up 2% to close at $85 7/8, HAWAIIAN AIR <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(AMEX: HA)") else Response.Write("(AMEX: HA)") end if %> was up 2% to close at $3 5/8, ATLANTIC COAST <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ACAI)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ACAI)") end if %> was flat, closing at $16 1/2, VANGUARD <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: VNGD)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: VNGD)") end if %> was flat, closing at $2, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: LUV)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: LUV)") end if %> was down 1%, closing at $23 1/2, COMAIR <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: COMR)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: COMR)") end if %> was down 1%, closing at $22 3/8, ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ASAI)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: ASAI)") end if %> was down 1% to close at $22 5/8, FEDERAL EXPRESS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FDX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FDX)") end if %> was down 2% to close at $54 1/8, AIRBORNE EXPRESS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: ABF)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: ABF)") end if %> was down 2% to close at $27 3/4, TOWER AIR <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TOWR)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: TOWR)") end if %> was down 5% to close at $2 31/32 (they reported some abysmal traffic figures--see below), MESABA <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MAIR)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MAIR)") end if %> was down 7% to close at $12 5/8, MESA <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MESA)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: MESA)") end if %> was down 10% to close at$6 1/2, and AMTRAN <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMTR)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: AMTR)") end if %> and WORLD <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WLDA)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: WLDA)") end if %> were the new MF Wings' Cloned Goats of the Week, as AMTR closed at $8, down 11%, and World also closed at $8, down 11% on the week as well. World also lost its CEO this past week, as it was announced that Charles Pollard had stepped down as president and chief executive. Coleman Andrews, the chairman, will serve as interim CEO until a successor is found.
Timely Tidbits--1-800-I-WANT-TO-BE-ON-TIME
Here are the results of the latest Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report on the performance of the 10 largest U.S. air carriers/domestic non-stop flights.
ON-TIME ARRIVALS
Percent Arriving
On Time Per Carrier
Jan97 Dec96
Alaska 71.8 54.8
AWA 67.3 65.1
AMR 68.3 70.0
CAI/B 72.1 73.1
Delta 67.6 66.9
NWAC 61.2 61.6
LUV 70.5 67.6
TWA 65.8 63.0
UAL 62.6 62.4
U 76.9 70.4
The percent of on-time arrivals is based on reports from the 28 airports required to report by the DOT plus voluntary reports from other airports.
In that hot competition between Southwest and Continental for bragging rights for the best on-time performance this month, the winner goes to...DING! USAirways. (huh?) Surprise, surprise--just another indication of the relatively mild winter that the Northeast has enjoyed this year. I'm sure this factor helped the Wolfman's troops leave both of you in the dust.
Okay, no problem..there is always the next round.....next month.
Analyst Upgrades, Downgrades, Earnings Reports
USAirways
Merrill Lynch announced this week it upgraded US Airways to near-term accumulate from neutral.
Merrill Lynch increased the long-term rating to buy from accumulate and set a 12-18 month price target of $36 a share. It also raised the first quarter earnings estimate to $0.60 a share from $0.28 a share, and the full year estimate to $3.85 a share from $3 a share.
***********
Helane Becker, a Smith Barney analyst, raised her investment rating of US Airways stock to buy from neutral and increased her earnings estimate for the first quarter to $0.85 a share from a loss of $0.60 a share. Her 1997 estimate was also raised by $1.15 to $3.52 a share.
Becker stated that the company's revenues were coming in stronger than expected and because of the mild winter in the Northeast, less money was spent on items such as de-icing fluid and there were fewer cancellations. These helped reduce costs for the airline. "The cost side of the equation was not that bad," Becker said. She added that March bookings "look good."
***********
Gruntal & Co. announced this past week that it had upgraded US Airways to outperform speculative from neutral. Gruntal & Co. cited the company's strong recent operating results and the possibility of a contract agreement with pilots.
The firm raised its 1997 earnings estimate to $3.50 a share, assuming a 5% to 10% tax rate, from $2.25 a share.
Continental Airlines Expects to Beat Estimates
Continental Airlines expects to beat Wall Street consensus earnings forecasts in the current quarter, chairman and CEO Gordon Bethune said on Wednesday.
Bethune is saying that Continental would beat the First Call consensus of forecasts by U.S. analysts. "I think they'll be happy," he said in a brief interview.
First Call's consensus for Continental's first quarter earnings is $0.72 a share. Continental beat analyst's expectations in the fourth quarter of 1996 to earn $0.61 a share.
Delta, UAL, Southwest, USAirways and AMR upgraded at NatWest
NatWest Securities Corp. raised Delta Airlines Inc., UAL Corp., and AMR Corp. to buy from hold.
NatWest also, however, lowered its first quarter earnings estimate on AMR Corp to $1.45 a share from $1.85 a share. NatWest cited the traffic shortfall for the seven to 10-day period before American's brief pilots strike--American Airlines' traffic dropped 4.9% and capacity fell 3% in February.
NatWest also raised the first quarter unit cost forecast to $0.0985 per available seat mile from $0.0945 per available seat mile. The firm maintained the second quarter earnings estimate of $3.20 a share.
NatWest also raised Southwest Airlines to buy from accumulate, and US Airways to accumulate from hold.
NatWest stated the strength of demand and with declining fuel prices have allayed the brokerage firm's fears of revenue shortfalls for the airlines.
Northwest Airlines
CSFirst Boston Corporation initiated coverage of Northwest Airlines Corporation with a buy rating.
Federal Express
Federal Express announced earnings more than doubled in its third quarter, largely due to growth in express shipments and a comparatively mild winter.
FedEx said it earned $63 million, or $0.54 a share, in the three months ended Feb. 28, up 130 percent from $27.2 million, or $0.24 a share, in the same period last year with revenues increasing 15 percent to $2.91 billion from $2.54 billion.
FedEx said its average daily volume of U.S. shipments rose 13 percent, while international shipments jumped 18 percent. Operating income from international operations was $33.8 million, reversing a $12.7 million loss last year.
FedEx earnings topped analysts' expectations of $0.52 a share.
FedEx earned $228.7 million, or $1.98 a share, on revenues of $8.45 billion for the first nine months of its fiscal year. A year earlier, it earned $192.4 million, or $1.69 a share, on revenue of $7.54 billion.
Most Thought-Provoking Post of the Week
Subj: Delta/Virgin/Continental
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 1997 17:03:59 EST
From: AAA 9039I wonder how the ending of the Virgin Atlantic code-share will affect DAL. Does DAL management feel confident that they will receive their own access to London Heathrow in the near future? This would mean that they expect the BA/AA deal to be approved since this seems to be the only way that any other U.S. carrier will get access to LHR. Or is DAL management content to now serve LON strictly thru Gatwick? It also seems like the deal between
Virgin and Continental was struck extremely quickly. It makes me wonder if this whole deal was negotiated in concert by all three carriers. Could it be possible that a DAL/CAL merger may still be a possibility? I also read on the CAL board that both managements are still talking but want to delay any deal until after anything happens on BA/AA. This way, if BA/AA is approved, DAL and CAL will be awarded more LHR routes as separate carriers than
if they were to merge prior to the BA/AA deal. Also, both DAL and CAL were recently awarded new Brazil routes and DAL recently announced further reductions at DFW, cutting flights to MIA, RSW, and SJO. Could it be that DAL is preparing to shift to a IAH hub in the near future? Seems that there are a lot of moves recently relating to both DAL and CAL. Could all be coincidence but then again...
Foolish readers, yes, if you could believe this, I wanted to discuss the issue of Delta and Virgin severing ties and Virgin linking up with Continental this week. However, we are already way too long this week with all the traffic and earnings reports.
Suffice it to say, there are some interesting points brought up in the post. We'll talk more about Delta next week.
Traffic Reports
Yes, Fools, it is MF Rockies' FAVORITE time of the month. Traffic report time! Here are the traffic reports that we received in the last week.
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines announced that its load factor rose to 70.9% last month from 69.1% a year earlier. The carrier said it flew 5.11 billion revenue passenger miles in February, an increase of 4.5% from the 4.89 billion miles one year earlier.
For the first two months of 1997, Northwest reported load factor was 69.1% compared to 67.4% one year earlier. Traffic was 10.33 billion revenue passenger miles, up 4.3% from the 9.77 billion miles a year earlier.
Atlantic Coast
Atlantic Coast Airlines reported today that its load factor fell to 38.2% in February from 40.8% a year earlier. Traffic fell 1.4% to 22.4 million revenue passenger miles from 22.7 million miles a year ago.
Atlantic Coast Airlines reported for the first two months of 1997, load factor decreased to 37.6% from 39.7% in the year-ago period. Revenue passenger miles rose 5.9% to 46 million from 43.4 million a year earlier.
Frontier Airlines
FRONTIER AIRLINES INC. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FRNT)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FRNT)") end if %> flew 70,072,000 revenue passenger miles in February, a 30.3% increase from February 1996.
Frontier recorded 118,831,000 available seat miles in February, up 25.6% from the year-ago month. The airlines' load factor was 59% in February 1997 vs. 56.8% in February 1996.
Comair Holdings, Inc.
Comair Holdings, Inc., reported revenue passenger miles increased 4.5% while available seat miles increased 11.3%.
FEBRUARY
1997 1996 % Change
ASMs (000) 224,426 201,590 11.3%
RPMs (000) 117,233 112,196 4.5%
LOAD FACTOR 52.2% 55.7% -6.1%
PASSENGERS 358,133 360,958 -0.8%
CALENDAR YTD
1997 1996 % Change
ASMs (000) 464,744 400,372 16.1%
RPMs (000) 233,226 212,472 9.8%
LOAD FACTOR 50.2% 53.1% -5.4%
PASSENGERS 713,606 685,736 4.1%
Midwest Express
Midwest Express announced its February load factor fell to 59.3% from 63.8% in the year-ago month. The Milwaukee-based airline holding company said February traffic fell 1.1% to 94.9 million revenue passenger miles from 96 million miles a year ago.
The first two months of the year, the airlines load factor fell to 56.1% from 60.2% in the year-ago period. Revenue passenger miles rose 3.5% to 187.9 million from 181.6 million a year ago.
Midwest Express reported the February load factor for Skyway Airlines, its commuter unit, fell to 41.4% from 43.2% in the year-ago month. February traffic fell 10.6% to 5.0 million revenue passenger miles from 5.6 million miles a year ago.
The first two months of 1997, the load factor at Skyway Airlines fell to 39.3% from 40.7% a year earlier. Traffic for the first two months dropped 6.1% to 9.9 million revenues passenger miles from 10.6 million miles in the year-ago period.
AirTran
AirWays Corporation reported February 1997 traffic results for its jet subsidiary, AirTran Airways at 70.7 million passenger miles. Capacity decreased 12% from February 1996 to 107 million available seat miles. The airline carried 84,424 passengers during the month resulting in a passenger load factor of 66.2 percent.
Feb'97 Feb'96 % Change
Passengers Carried: 84,424 86,884 - 3
ASMs (000): 106,821 122,057 - 12
RPMs (000): 70,742 77,369 - 9
Load Factor: 66.2% 63.4% + 2.8 pts
Year-to-Date
2 months ended Feb. 28, 1997
YTD97 YTD96 % Change
Passengers Carried: 160,059 148,892 + 8
ASMs (000): 211,955 224,180 - 5
RPMs (000): 133,555 131,814 + 1
Load Factor: 63.0 % 58.8 % + 4.2 pts
Foolish Goings-On--April Fools Day!
For all of you who wonder if we are really gnomes or if MF Wings really does wear a Jester's Cap, well, here is your chance to find out.
The Motley Fool will be holding a coast-to-coast Foolish celebration Tuesday night, April 1st, at a Morton's Steakhouse near you. (Well, for our foreign readers, I don't guess this would apply.) Parties will take place in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington and Atlanta. MF Wings will be hosting the party here in Dallas, however there will be other Fools presiding over the other parties in the other cities--have no fear--you will not be the only FOOL there.
Cost is $40 a person, and includes great food, party goodies, a live online AOL auditorium event and Connectix camera communications with other Foolish parties, prizes for the best costume, (should you choose to come dressed in silver body paint with red letters down your side that say "American Airlines", or an attractive orange and yellow number with a red heart on your side), and just general Foolish nonsense.
If you are interested just access the Motley Fool main screen to order tickets (keyword: FOOL), or for those of you who do not subscribe to AOL, just drop me a note, c/o MF [email protected], and I can get your e-tickets reserved for you, or send along an information sheet.
So, come on--are we going to let the Houston guys give me a hard time about who is going to have the best party in Texas? Besides it is good for us to all act like Fools occasionally--keeps us in practice for having to deal with this Foolish industry we love so much.
And, if you live near one of the other sites--please do not hesitate to get down and party with Fools there! The more the merrier!
Subscribe NOW!
Yes, if you would like to be added to our ever-expanding group of readers who get their weekly update mailed directly to your e-mail box--at no charge--just drop me a note at MF Wings @ aol.com, (or some folks need to do [email protected]), and tell me "WINGS! I need it!" and we will get you on the list.
Again, if you do not receive a particular issue, just drop me a note--as we have found that Internet servers can be down temporarily when we send. So, please advise us of any problems.
Back-Logged Mail
Just a thank-you for your patience as I try and respond to an incredible increase in the amount of mail of late. Thank you for writing and I appreciate you taking the time to do so. Please bear with me as I try and play catch-up from our tremendous influx of mail due to the new YAHOO link-up.
Weekly Wrap-Up
That is it for this week's edition of the MF Wings' Airline Industry Update. My thanks to the folks at the Women in Aviation International Conference that was held this past week in Dallas. Over 1700 people were there, and they presented some very good sessions. Their annual conference will be held next year in Denver. If you would like more information about the organization, you can visit their website at http://www.wiai.org.
Have a good week everyone!
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