richpee

Airlines: Some Costs They Can't - And Shouldn't - Cut

All I know about airlines, is that their management officers, their organization and structure can be put in a thimble. What I do know and am smart enough to do is stay away from any investments in such a stupid historical money losing industry.
One of my lifetime best friends was a pilot for United Airlines and what I know about him is that he was screwed tattoo and put out to pasture in the harshest way a man going into retirement could every be treated. He lost $$millions$$ of dollars in his lifetime pension annuity retirement income benefits to the stupid management decisions and failure to put enough monies away to fund promised pension payments for his and his fellow United Airline pilots pension plan. So much so it was forfeited over to GPBC (Guaranty Pension Benefits Pension)and reduced to 1/4 of it's required payments for life. Sadly GPBC itself is being overloaded with GM,C, and many other banks and hundreds of to come bankruptcies and failures in corporate America. So these lifetime faithful employees, Flight attendants, tarmac workers will ultimately see GPBC go busted as it's now almost in default by billions of dollars to end with up all of these wokers losing everything th ey saved and after a dedicated lifetime of working?? FAIR? NO...a disaster for all of these retirees.
Who in the hell is crazy enough to INVEST in these AIrlines.Companies starting out losing money going thorough their entire existence losing money??Daaaa Something's wrong with that picture./ This article as good as it is only points out a small part of the horrible outcomes for all of these employees.

As a financial planner, investment consultant all my working life I had the privilege of working with many old Piedmont Airlines and US Air pilots etc and actually talking them into taking early retirement and demanding a lump sum payout settlement on every possible penny that they could get and putting their fund in Section 72 IRA Roll Over plans and diversify their entire retirement program. Lucky for them my advise to them, they are all happy campers now with their full boat withdrawals setting in their own self managed plans. Because of their decision to take early retirement and a lump sum settlement rather than a paid monthly pension payout.They've had the sad privilege of watching their fellow airline employees who choose not to do that see their invested funds, pension funds plans get destroyed like so many of the United Airline pilots have in the last 8..9 years.

Sadly I couldn't convince my dear friend to do the same with his United Airline Funds and UAL stock back then. He like his fellow retirees have somewhat lost it all..no lump sums..the airlines stopped allow that years ago. What has happened is he's had him monthly pension reduced to 1/4 of what he should be getting. He now stands to even lose that payment option when we will end up seeing the GPBC go the way all of us will see Medicare and Social Security crash around our heads!! Sad Sad state of future affairs!

NO AIRLINE STOCK INVESTMENTS FOR ME EVER!!!
AIRLINE MANAGEMENT SUCKS!!! IRLINE stocks are worthless fancy paper after all said and done!