Snow in DEN! (EDITED TO INCLUDE CITATION)

Good Evening Everyone,

I'd like to start by wishing everyone a very Happy New Year! Well it is snowing in Denver and crazy weather has been occurring all over the country. Delta and American's completion factor for the month of December was 92% and 89% respectively. Most of those cancelled flights were due to the snow storms up and down the eastern seaboard. Republic saw a total of 800 cancelled flights due to the snowstorm in the east, 700 of which were contract operations the remaining 100 were Frontier flights. That, combined with the ever increasing cost of oil ($90 for a barrel of crude as of today) means that Frontier will lose money from the month of December. You can appreciate that allow the snow is good for Denver, its not so good for Frontier. Next year will be very tough, but I am confident that we have never been in a better position to combat the challenges we face. (It has been brought to my attention that the sources behind this were not properly cited, much of the analysis has comes from Bryan Bedford & Republic Airways Inc. Other analysis is a compilation of knowledge through several things that I have read recently - the WSJ & Fox Business come to mind, thanks to all who contributed).

Well thats all for now - I wish you all blessings as the new year rolls around.

Matt

Writers Block

Good Evening Everyone,

As you are undoubtably aware it has been a while since I have updated this blog - I have been on the road a lot, working a lot and spending much time around family and friends. On that note, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I began the month in Cedar Rapids, Iowa - traveled back to San Francisco, Denver, Newport, Goodland and the Rocky mountains (skiing and snow!) - I believe I am missing one place, but my mind is blank.

Anyhow for the important things. About a month ago, at a severe moment of weakness I very seriously considered giving up this book, it seemed so crazy (and in many ways still does). But then I sat down and spoke to a few people (Andrea Grant - thank you) who really reminded me why I am writing it. The bottom line, I am continuing and working harder than ever to find interviews. Next week I am off to New York to interview the CFO of private equity at Blackstone, and a managing director at Protiviti (a division of Robert Half International), and hopefully VP of Marketing at JetBlue Airways (keep your fingers crossed for that one). The following week I am off to Orlando, where I will hopefully interview a representative from Disney and potentially meet some key figures in the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders). I am still working on a number of contacts - and hope to have updates from Frontier Airlines, LRS, and Marsico Funds soon!

Well thanks for staying tuned, we'll talked to you soon!

Matt

Rainy with a chance of Christmas

Well it must be Christmas time in San Francisco! Yup, the rain is here and I know its about as close to snow as I am going to get (which reminds me of the Colorado Christmas season). Anyway, I hope everyone had a safe and restful Thanksgiving. As with every year, I travelled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa for Thanksgiving this year, where I was away from internet access and in a place where I could sleep late (much too late) and enjoy the company of my family. I am so blessed to have great family and friends, and Thanksgiving reminded me how grateful I need to be for that. Anyway, part of my reason for not writing last week was because I was without internet for most of the week, my excuse for not writing until now this week is much more feeble. I have been absolutely slammed with work. The good news is that some of that work translates to very good things for the book. As of right now, I have firmed up an interview with Young Americans Bank (for entrepreneurship development), JetBlue Airways, and Erin Gruwell (not to mention the already completed interviews). Additionally, I am hopeful that the following companies & people will return with a positive response: FedEx (Fred Smith), Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, LRS (Levi, Ray & Schoup), Southwest Airlines, Disney's Imagineering Department, Tom Marsico, and Erin Brockovich.

Okay - well thank you for your patients, I promise as soon as I know more I'll keep everyone updated.

Blessings and prayers with you as you venture forth into the holiday season.

Best,

Matt