United Airlines version of what was said. Looks like the reporter indeed heard what he wanted to and wrote a misinformed, inflamatory piece.
From 'Jake' Brace, United Airlines Executive Vice President and CFO:
"Good evening. By now, many of you have read or heard reports that United is planning to ground 100 aircraft. The reports are based on comments I made at a Goldman Sachs conference yesterday in New York. I want to put the story straight and get the facts into the right context. First, let me be clear, we are not grounding airplanes.
At the conference, I was talking with analysts about how the industry would respond to an economic environment where oil is hovering near $100 a barrel. I was reinforcing to the analysts a point that I believe strongly: United has more flexibility to respond to economic challenges than our competitors. We have a great network that gives us the opportunity to move our aircraft around in response to changes in worldwide economics. We have managed our U.S. domestic capacity very well. We have a strong cash balance and good cash flow. We are in a very good fundamental position.
As part of that conversation, I also brought up, as one point about our flexibility, the fact that we have more than 100 aircraft that are debt-free. Because they are unencumbered, if oil prices stay high and if we cannot pass the costs on to our customers, one way to manage our capacity could be to ground aircraft, which we could do without incurring ongoing costs. It was one point in a larger conversation about the possible responses we would have in an extreme environment, which the analysts in the room understood. Unfortunately, the point was picked up by reporters listening to the webcast as something we were considering, rather than a possibility if certain conditions occurred.
There is no underestimating the impact the price of oil has on our industry. It’s a significant issue for every airline and something we are watching every day. Just today, we announced a $10 fare increase on U.S. domestic flights to offset higher fuel costs. We will continue to weigh our options to manage the impact the price of oil has on our business and we will certainly inform you in a much more deliberate way if we ever get to a point where decisions as serious as grounding 100 aircraft are necessary.
In the meantime, as Pete reinforced in a recent email, the best course for all of us is a continued focus on fuel conservation, efficiency and looking for cost savings at every opportunity.
Jake"