Airline Financial Stability Hearing Committee On
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
S. HRG. 109–1093 AIRLINE FINANCIAL STABILITY HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JULY 13, 2005 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 62–179 PDF WASHINGTON : 2010 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:42 Nov 17, 2010 Jkt 062179 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\62179.TXT SCOM1 PsN: JACKIE SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION TED STEVENS, Alaska, Chairman JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Co-Chairman CONRAD BURNS, Montana JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia TRENT LOTT, Mississippi JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine BARBARA BOXER, California GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon BILL NELSON, Florida JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada MARIA CANTWELL, Washington GEORGE ALLEN, Virginia FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska JIM DEMINT, South Carolina MARK PRYOR, Arkansas DAVID VITTER, Louisiana LISA J. SUTHERLAND, Republican Staff Director CHRISTINE DRAGER KURTH, Republican Deputy Staff Director DAVID RUSSELL, Republican Chief Counsel MARGARET L. CUMMISKY, Democratic Staff Director and Chief Counsel SAMUEL E. WHITEHORN, Democratic Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel LILA HARPER HELMS, Democratic Policy Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION CONRAD BURNS, Montana, Chairman TED STEVENS, Alaska JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia, JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona Ranking TRENT LOTT, Mississippi DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine BARBARA BOXER, California GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey GEORGE ALLEN, Virginia BILL NELSON, Florida JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire E. BENJAMIN NELSON, Nebraska JIM DEMINT, South Carolina MARK PRYOR, Arkansas (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:42 Nov 17, 2010 Jkt 062179 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\62179.TXT SCOM1 PsN: JACKIE C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on July 13, 2005 ............................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Burns ................................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator DeMint ................................................................................. 44 Statement of Senator Inouye .................................................................................. 2 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 2 Statement of Senator Lautenberg .......................................................................... 46 WITNESSES Baker, Jamie N., Vice President, U.S. Equity Research, JPMorgan Securities, Inc. ......................................................................................................................... 30 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 31 Hecker, JayEtta Z., Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office ............................................................................................ 3 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 5 May, James C., President/CEO, Air Transport Association of America, Inc. ..... 19 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 Roach, Jr., Robert, General Vice President of Transportation, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) ................................ 36 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 37 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:42 Nov 17, 2010 Jkt 062179 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\62179.TXT SCOM1 PsN: JACKIE VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:42 Nov 17, 2010 Jkt 062179 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\62179.TXT SCOM1 PsN: JACKIE AIRLINE FINANCIAL STABILITY WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2005 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:58 a.m., Senate Russell 253, Hon. Conrad Burns, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CONRAD BURNS, U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA Senator BURNS. We’ll call the Committee to order this morning, and there are quite a lot of things going on in this part of the world, and we want to thank our folks for coming in this morning. I welcome this panel of witnesses, and especially in our continuing efforts to work toward ideas for the next FAA reauthorization bill, we are examining the financial condition of the airline industry. It is our intent to focus on a wide array of internal and external fac- tors that shape the industry today. I think it’s important this sub- committee understands the underlying principles, and problems in the industry in order to make an educated policy decision. As you know, as policymakers, we should operate with the idea to do no harm, and when we do know there are extenuating circumstances under legislation and sometimes we don’t see it coming. There are certainly several caveats to the airline industry. I an- ticipate that we will discuss them, among others, the relationship between the legacy carriers and the low-cost carriers, so-called ris- ing fuel costs, aviation taxes and fees, labor and management rela- tions, capacity concerns, fair pricing, aircraft leasing, industry con- solidation, and the role that Chapter 11 bankruptcy plays in the in- dustry. As if there is not enough on the platter already, this sort of fills the boat. Since 2000, many in the airline industry have experienced poor financial results and have lost somewhere around $35 billion with the expectation of heavy losses this year. A majority of those prob- lems can be traced back to the horrific events of 9/11 and SARS, but there are also several factors that were in place, and starting to evolve prior to 9/11. Legacy carriers—the business models—have been criticized for years, but the fragile line between profitability and red ink was not exposed until we had seen the events of 9/11, and the effects of that along with the downturn of the overall economy. One could (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 12:42 Nov 17, 2010 Jkt 062179 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\WPSHR\GPO\DOCS\62179.TXT SCOM1 PsN: JACKIE 2 argue that we are starting to see the actual results of deregulation now much more than the 1980s and 1990s. We now have prospering, low-cost carriers, evolving business, and aviation ventures, and because of it, more people are flying today. In fact, just last month we had a hearing on passenger lev- els and system capacity. Our traffic levels are back to record levels, planes are full, but many of the legacy carriers are still seriously struggling. It’s tough to understand why, in a business that seems to be booming, most of the legacy carriers are busting. For a Senator from Montana, it’s even more disconcerting to see our legacy tradi- tional hub-and-spoke carriers in dire straits. The hub-and-spoke model has provided historical foundation for rural access to my state and many others that do not fit into the traditional low-cost carrier business plan. Legacy carriers are making significant gains in improving their bottom lines, but still reporting large financial losses. Today we look at some of the reasons why. Our panel consists of a broad spectrum of aviation experts, and I look forward to their testimony. This morning I want to thank them for coming, because we know the industry is vitally important to this country for commerce and I know you take your job very, very seriously. Senator Inouye, thank you for coming in this morn- ing, also. STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. INOUYE, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII Senator INOUYE. Well, I thank you very much. I have a prepared statement I’d like to have made part of the record. Like a few of my colleagues, I do a lot of flying. In fact, last week, I spent more time in the air than on the ground. I spent 20 hours in Hawaii and 22 hours in the air. And so I’m well aware of the low fares. I’m well aware of the packed aircraft, and, yet, I know that since 2001, we have a shortfall of $35 billion. About 150,000 have lost their jobs, so this is a serious situation, and we are looking for answers, and I would like to commend my Chairman for calling this hearing. [The prepared statement of Senator Inouye follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. INOUYE, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII Most aviation observers understand that despite the low fares and packed air- planes that have become commonplace, the Nation’s airlines continue to struggle through the toughest financial period in the history of commercial aviation. This has not been a blip on the proverbial radar screen. This has been an extended economic slump that resulted in the collective loss of tens of billions of dollars by the major carriers and the elimination of nearly 150,000 airline jobs