One of the constraints on the U.S. business is the pilot shortage. There's not an abundance of pilots. There may be an abundance of cheap fuel and airplanes. There probably isn't an abundance of gates at popular airports, either.
Those wedgie seats, whatever they call them, those recliners, they're just not competitive anymore. The difference between those and a coach seat isn't that great to be able to warrant charging the amount. You need a little more space for a lie-flat, but not that much more.
Of course, we should all be aware of what we're packing in our carry-on luggage - anything that might be considered dangerous could be confiscated at a security checkpoint.
A lot of airlines have come and gone.
This is not a business where you can hand off and run by remote control.
The Lisbon hub is important to Portugal, the country. That's not going to go away. It needs to be there. The country depends on tourism.
I think there's a big market in North America [with travelers] going to Lisbon and connecting over Lisbon.
If you want to go to Spain or you want to go to France or you want go to [any] southern European countries, [Lisbon] is a great place to [connect].
I just don't think it's good public policy to tax fuel. It's kind of silly. It stops people from traveling and actually costs the economy more money than what you gain in the taxes.
There's just things that are against the law.
You can't charge for anything in Brazil.
I think there's new optimism in Brazil. The Olympics went well. Our demand is good. Costs are down. We're back in the black. We're feeling really good about what's going on in Brazil.
I think because of all of the difficulties in Europe with terrorism and stuff, a lot of people ended up going to Portugal. They felt, I think, safer in Portugal.
Our people get profit-sharing checks. I got a report the other day that says that 84 percent of our people participate in our stock purchase program, where they can buy stock at a 15 percent discount.
People were desperately trying to fill their seats for the summer. And so prices are really low right now. And so they are kept from raising prices to make up for that difference.
I believe the public's confidence would be increased if the federal government took over the functions of airport security screening for all passengers.
Seat assignment didn't matter if you're flying Dallas to Houston and you did it 38 times a day. People just got on, you didn't sit next to your wife, and it was a 45-minute flight. It didn't matter.
Certainly, we are hurt by the high fuel prices because it raises our cost.
Nobody ever thought about having to protect the passengers from the pilots.
And you've got to remember that I'm also the father of nine children.
