Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Minding Your Business: Fasten Your Seat Belts
Aired March 12, 2003 - 07:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: So on to business news now. Is bankruptcy a foregone conclusion for American Airlines?
Let's turn to Andy Serwer. He's the man with the answers this morning.
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Paula.
Yes, well, that's the big question on Wall Street and for investors and for all Americans who fly. It really looks like we could be seeing that company zip into bankruptcy -- sorry to say that.
Let's talk about the stock market a little bit. Honestly, Paula, no good news for investors yesterday on Wall Street. Can I call it a moral victory? Only down 44 points on the Dow.
ZAHN: I don't know. You still have a sliding definition of what all of this stuff means.
SERWER: Hey, I've got my flag of convenience up. That's not a good thing, just more selling on the Street. Futures are down again this morning.
Airlines a big reason why. They're really looking weak, not only American, but Delta as well. Both of those stocks fell a lot.
How do you make $159 on Wall Street, Paula? You buy $2,800 of American Airlines a year ago.
ZAHN: Oh, wow!
SERWER: Anyway that's the old Wall Street joke.
Same thing with Delta, it's also down from $3,700 to $675.
ZAHN: So what does this mean to the consumer?
SERWER: Yes, that's a really good question, because we talk about these airlines going into bankruptcy. United is in bankruptcy already. US Air is in bankruptcy. What if American goes into bankruptcy? Look, this business is really sick, and Americans have known it for a while. They have always been feeling the problems. It's not a great thing to fly in this country. Let's face it, it's not a lot of fun.
ZAHN: So you're going to see fewer flights, service cuts. What else?
SERWER: Less flights, fewer service benefits, also I think your reservations are OK on all of these airlines going forward, but I would really look to use your frequent flyer miles at these airlines -- American, United and US Air. Get them out of the way, use them up, because you never know what's going to happen in the future.
ZAHN: Did the American public get ripped off with the bailout?
SERWER: It looks like it. The only thing the airlines could say is it would be a lot worse if they hadn't done it.
ZAHN: Andy Serwer, always the man with our answers. Thanks so much.
SERWER: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired March 12, 2003 - 07:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: So on to business news now. Is bankruptcy a foregone conclusion for American Airlines?
Let's turn to Andy Serwer. He's the man with the answers this morning.
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Paula.
Yes, well, that's the big question on Wall Street and for investors and for all Americans who fly. It really looks like we could be seeing that company zip into bankruptcy -- sorry to say that.
Let's talk about the stock market a little bit. Honestly, Paula, no good news for investors yesterday on Wall Street. Can I call it a moral victory? Only down 44 points on the Dow.
ZAHN: I don't know. You still have a sliding definition of what all of this stuff means.
SERWER: Hey, I've got my flag of convenience up. That's not a good thing, just more selling on the Street. Futures are down again this morning.
Airlines a big reason why. They're really looking weak, not only American, but Delta as well. Both of those stocks fell a lot.
How do you make $159 on Wall Street, Paula? You buy $2,800 of American Airlines a year ago.
ZAHN: Oh, wow!
SERWER: Anyway that's the old Wall Street joke.
Same thing with Delta, it's also down from $3,700 to $675.
ZAHN: So what does this mean to the consumer?
SERWER: Yes, that's a really good question, because we talk about these airlines going into bankruptcy. United is in bankruptcy already. US Air is in bankruptcy. What if American goes into bankruptcy? Look, this business is really sick, and Americans have known it for a while. They have always been feeling the problems. It's not a great thing to fly in this country. Let's face it, it's not a lot of fun.
ZAHN: So you're going to see fewer flights, service cuts. What else?
SERWER: Less flights, fewer service benefits, also I think your reservations are OK on all of these airlines going forward, but I would really look to use your frequent flyer miles at these airlines -- American, United and US Air. Get them out of the way, use them up, because you never know what's going to happen in the future.
ZAHN: Did the American public get ripped off with the bailout?
SERWER: It looks like it. The only thing the airlines could say is it would be a lot worse if they hadn't done it.
ZAHN: Andy Serwer, always the man with our answers. Thanks so much.
SERWER: OK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
