Lets start some more rumours

[Red1]

I think the one thing to keep in mind about this bought deal is that the syndicate of underwriters must believe there is enough upside to the Westjet stock to take on all of the risk. If they didn't believe there was enough potential upside to the deal, why bother (on a traditional financing deal they would at least generate a guaranteed rate of return, plus assume less risk).

[Rotten Apple #1]

Okay so apparently $12-$15,000,000 was for the fleet makeover. That number also includes the Point of Sale (POS) roll out.

According to a PM just received, WJ will deploy approx $50 million of the capital for a buy in of a retail hotel property in one of our sun destinations. Buying an island (Westjetters Gone Wild Island) was considered, then kiboshed.

Or so the rumour goes.

[Smitty]

So what about the remaining 100 or so million?

What could 100 meeellion dollars be used for?

[Red1]

I don't know if a fleet make over would entice the banks enough to warrant such a deal.. where's the up side

[Sumup]

Its for new pilot hats to match the legacy boys

[Herc_Driver]

..... Westjetters Gone Wild ....

Will Snoop Dog be producing that video?
I'd like to see that one!!

[RB-211]

If I was WJ, I would lend it to AC at a rate of say 16-18% per annum and ask to use half the embryo fleet as collateral.

Either way they come out a winner.

[balfour]

It's not as bad there as some here on this forum would have you believe.

[yycflyguy]

Porter Airlines, a small regional carrier that has found a way to make money in hard times, expects to stay profitable this year and to keep expanding in 2010, its chief executive said Monday.

CEO Robert Deluce also said in an interview that privately held Porter is not in talks to be taken over by Canada's No. 2 carrier, WestJet Airlines Ltd. There has been speculation recently that WestJet would make such a move.

The almost 3-year-old Porter says it is seeing a 60-per-cent to 70-per-cent increase in passenger numbers in Canada this year from last year. Even the depressed New York market had recovered for Porter by the start of this year, the airline said.

Deluce, a veteran of Canada's airline industry, said Porter, which caters largely to business travellers and flies to nine destinations in eastern Canada and the Northeast U.S., became profitable after just nine months in operation.

The airline, whose in-flight staff are easily recognizable for their chic 1960s-style blue uniforms and pillbox hats, is the only carrier that operates out of Toronto's City Centre Airport. The small airport is on an island in Toronto's harbour, a short ferry ride from downtown.

The location is convenient for travellers who otherwise have to traipse out to Pearson Airport, a 45-minute taxi ride from the city centre.

By next month, Porter's fleet will consist of 18 Bombardier Q400 turboprop planes, a 300-per-cent increase from a year earlier.

It will take delivery of the last two aircraft in its current 20-plane order by April next year.

"There is likely to be a follow-on aircraft order of some sort and that will probably allow us to reach even more destinations," Deluce, 59, said, adding that the company is likely to stick with the 70-seater Bombardier turboprops.

Porter's destinations include Montreal, Ottawa, New York and Boston. It is eyeing Washington and Philadelphia as possible additions.

"Certainly by spring, we would have reached one or more of these," he said.

He expects to have more than 1,000 employees by April, up from 750 currently, unusual in an industry that has been hard-hit by the recession and where staff cuts or hiring freezes are the norm.

Deluce played down recent reports that an initial public offering for Porter is in the cards, saying it was "not even on the short-term agenda."

After WestJet opted to raise funds in a financing this summer without a stated purpose, speculation arose that it is considering a takeover of Porter. Deluce said he read the reports "with equal interest and surprise."

"We are not in any discussions with WestJet or anyone," he said.

He added, however, that he was aware that a number of WestJet executives had purchased tickets to travel on Porter recently.

[Black Sheep]

http://www.thestar.com/travel/article/702494

One down!

[KAG]

I don't think it's one down as much it is a new more efficient airline will arise. I see this real competition in the works.
either way our stock is up

Time will tell.

[TAWS]

is not in talks to be taken over by Canada's No. 2 carrier, WestJet Airlines

Number two airline in Canada in what?....not fleet size, not popularity, not profit.....

If you ask anyone that works there, they're not number two in anything!

[Flying Nutcracker]

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blog ... -ubs.aspx#

As we are looking for rumors...

[balfour]

"We takin' over this mother phuker"

[Four1oh]

sup widdat?!