Well I would suggest that the poor service is an effect of the strong unions . Clearly not the purpose . If you could be fired for not smiling all the time or talking back to a rude person yeah , reckon that's good motivation to smile and always be polite .
As far as respect with pilots in Asia compared to the states .... ah , free travel on most airlines ? Jump seating ? That's pretty respectful . Respect is maintaining my contract , not changing it when the company feels like it . If you want people to see you in awe becasue you are a pilot , cool man , that's your boat . Wear the shiney shiney hat . I would rather have a company respect my contract . Any way , different horses for different courses .

Any business standard, really?

Well please tell me what business standard is something that is given for free not a subsidy?
Let me spell it out for you then...

In finance, most large loans and /or large deals have a guarantor written into the contract to give the counter parties some recourse in event of default. In the case of a loan, in exchange for this risk sharing the terms of contract will be more favorable to borrower, or basically a lower interest rate. In the case of the ME3 or Qatar especially, the government becomes the guarantor, and in the that case the risk of default becomes extremely small. The price of the loan can then be significantly lower.
In the case of an airline, the 2 largest expenses are financing and fuel. So, we just covered financing. I'll cover fuel later today...

In case you are wondering, I have no connection to Delta or other legacy operators... just calling like I see it.

Respect contracts ... that's an other very good point!

Would Deltas codeshares in SkyTeam that are govt subsidized and thus guarantor also use loans that are significantly lower?

Exactly! :D

Americans like to bitch.

Americans are never at fault.

Americans never take responsibilities for the situations they are in.

Americans always need someone to blame.

American businesses run to their government when they can't compete with companies that are simply better than them.

American companies consider paying European taxes as "illegal."

American Pilots spend the majority of their time comparing a country in the middle east to their own and wonder why it is so different!:ugh:

Seriously, go back and join your Delta buddies over there! Do your part and make America great again! From what I can see, you are well on your way with that lunatic in charge.....:rolleyes:

Seems like you know something about bitching, all right. Feel better now?

Are you a pilot in the US? Sure post 9/11 the career took a huge hit financially and thus some of the luster has faded. However today's contracts do not even resemble the post bankruptcy/concessionary contracts of the decade passed. I don't know about your experience but I have never waited in line at a hotel. Always went straight to the front to sign in and grab the keys. As far as not being able to use our own companies metal for travel. I'm a commuter so I catch two flights a week to and from work with no problems. I also leave the country every 5 to 6 months on vacation, always international first class. If not my own metal, I walk up to the delta/united/southwest/JetBlue etc gate and list standby. Always met with a smiling flight deck crew that's more than welcoming. Don't know where you're getting this info.

A bit like Chapter 11 right?

Dubai 2004
You sound like a really nice guy . So opened minded . Can't wait to share sometime with you on the flight deck .
White knight , yeah , chapter 11 , a bit like dubai refusing to honor its debt in 2009 .

I do not know enough of the details of this arrangement to make a comparison to the example of financing subsidies used by the ME3. Guaranteed government business could be considered a subsidy of sort, but this is not nearly as blatant as Qatar simply underwriting loans for no cost (underwriting costs money in the western business world). There is a reason that Qatar alone has just as many A350 orders as the 3 US legacy, They can borrow at cheaper rate and also take more risk.
All of the ME3 are using this to varying degrees to create a competitive advantage using newer equipment. Delta for instance is still trying to squeeze the last dime out 15 and 20 year old Mad Dogs. Why? I'm sure the customers would rather ride in new airframes that don't smell like all the funk that the last C check couldn't quite scrape off seat 29C, but when gallon of Jet A costs less than $3 it make more financial sense to keep the old jt9's burning.

Sometime when you have a little bit of time go download 2014-2015 QA annual report and statements. Try to read through the liabilities sections. First thing you might notice is there is total numbers but very little detail as to what accounts and activities are added to various totals. Basically, it's very hard to drill down comparisons to other operators.
Second thing to notice way down the notes sections is a nice little transaction where the company issued 26.7 Billion QR in new shares to the government in exchange for 100% control of a leasing company that was valued at 18.5 Billion QR (23B or so in aircraft - 4.5B of assumed debt) + plus a cash infusion ...excuse me... investment of another 8 Billion.

What this a good deal for the gov't of Qatar?

Who knows... no telling what due diligence was done, but when someone takes a large share of equity in a company you can say they are buying risk in the company in return for a future payout. Look further in the notes you find liabilities in the form of loans only from the government directly, some government agency, or a government controlled bank, but no other type of financing or financial entity. Also there is little detail from which to infer the cost of borrowing or the terms of the loans, with the exception of one loan being listed as libor plus margin (which libor and what margin??) but that loan was noted as retired anyway.

Now the case for Emirates may be different but I also find no coincidence that they are starting to show symptoms of financial stress. In the case of the other two, the more you look, the harder it becomes to argue that they are not operating in a different environment where shareholder profits are less important than other national goals.

I don't recall ever hearing about Chapter 11 being referenced in a business plan as a competitive advantage or as a path to being a *market leader...


*lawyers or law firms not included

'Sorry Dog' speaking of competitive advantage perhaps you can shed some light on this.

Delta spent $450m investing in a 3.55% share of China Eastern in 2015, an airline underwritten by the Chinese govt and thus able to benefit from the buying power of said govt.

To underscore this, yesterday the the Chinese govt through the China Aviation Supplies Holding Company ordered 140 Airbus aircraft (100 320's & 40 350's) at a value of $23bn. The CAS Co has not yet revealed who these aircraft will be allocated to. China Eastern et al don't buy these aircraft- the Chinese govt do on their behalf.

This is a prime example of a govt directly underwriting and supporting a Chinese airline that Delta is a shareholder of. The pricing power of the govt purchase also reduces the price of these govt supported airlines pay as against purely commercial entities in Asia that must compete with the Chinese on Asia/EU & Asia/US routes.

Because China Eastern is part owned by Delta and a code share with Delta - this govt subsidy is obviously not an issue for Delta.

The Chinese govt supporting the growth of Chinese airlines is in the national interests of China. Fair enough, not any different than other countries I can think of.

So why is it ok in Delta's view - for the Chinese govt to subsidize an airline they partly own - if they are against govt subsidies?

Note: Wikipedia- China Eastern Airlines Group, is a state-owned enterprise that was supervised by State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

At least that A330 is built by union members...

As are the 380 & 777X

👍👍👍😉

Back to school? I don't need another degree. Telling someone to go back to school is a poor reply and childish. Your agenda is most transparent. You're anti-American and once again, drawing tangents to your thinly veiled temper tantrum. So now American is collectively responsible for the poverty level of a neighboring failed state? A person that comes to America under their own volition and works illegally is a slave? Yet a person who works in the ME but cannot vote, unionize, leave freely, conceive child, practice their religion or get married without permission is better off? Keep drawing the tangents...

Not just the routes they are taking. Qatar Airways (and every other person in the world pronouces it Katar) own 20% of BA parent IAG and they also own 20% of LHR where the weasel is on the board of directors.

Just to add to other replies already posted.
If your statement would be correct, there would be a very low number of loans! By the way, should it be correct, how do you explain September 2008 finance crisis and all these large, well managed US banks going burst?

Only pilot has union in United states. What do you want to say about other jobs in united states? Like software engineers ? They do not have any unions and they fired them without giving them any notice because they find cheaper labour from india to replace them. Trust me 3 big airlines in united states do not like unions and maybe in future there won't be unions for Pilots in United States . Just look at other industries and you will find out.

Can you buy discounted business class ticket from your airline? The answer is no. We can get discounted business class on many airlines such as Lufthansa, Etihad, ... . I have lots of friends works for American airline, United and Delta and they can not buy a business or first class ticket.