00:00I have one question with regards to JetBlue.
00:02Is there something in this company that the likes of United might want to buy?
00:08Well, I think, you know, there's been a lot of discussion about United's interest in getting back into JFK.
00:12So I think that would be viewed as the crown jewel.
00:14But they also have a great Caribbean franchise, major presence in Boston, and a huge fleet of Airbus.
00:21So I think there's a lot of assets that JetBlue has.
00:25Right now, though, Tom, is JetBlue just indicative of how much pain there is
00:28in some of the more domestic and vacation-focused airlines,
00:32given the fact that ultimately all of them seem to be either having their hands out
00:37or reporting earnings that are somewhat negative.
00:40Yeah, I mean, I think JetBlue was, you know, they started from a deeper hole maybe in the last couple
00:45of years,
00:45just given some of the challenges that had beset that company,
00:48many of them out of their control, like the GTF engine groundings.
00:51So I think if you're starting from a position of fragility,
00:54any of these type of crises that seemingly hit the industry every year,
00:59it's that much harder to absorb them versus the Deltas or the United's of the world,
01:03who are starting from a little more buffered by their profit base.
01:07Do you think this is appropriate for some of the budget airlines to get a government bailout to survive?
01:14Do you think the consolidation is the best route?
01:16What's your take on that?
01:19It's something that investors are grappling with.
01:21I think that prior to the last couple of months,
01:24one of the bull cases on the broader industry was that you were seeing this process of unprofitable capacity leaving
01:32the system
01:32and that that would be supportive of a multiple re-rating,
01:35that there would just be more rational players like other quality industrial subsectors.
01:39I think now this wild card that maybe there's just a set amount of capacity that won't be allowed to
01:45leave the system
01:46because it's deemed too important for price-sensitive consumers.
01:49That's a new risk investors have to grapple with.
01:52And maybe that, whether it crimps the multiple re-rating story for the broader group
01:57or possibly causes more dispersion between the haves and the have-nots,
02:01that's something we're watching very closely.
02:03I think frustrating for JetBlue, given their presence in Lauderdale,
02:07given the opportunities that they would have there, they were viewed as a major beneficiary of ultra-low-cost rationalization.
02:12So, you know, I think every day it seems like the direction's changing.
02:17But, yeah, it's definitely top of mind for investors right now.
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