HAJFlyer From Switzerland, joined Sep 2005, 1466 posts, RR: 10 Posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 8874 times:
Quote from AP:
"NEW YORK (AP) -- US Airways Group Inc. Chief Executive Doug Parker said Wednesday the airline industry needs to get much smaller to stay viable, and consolidation is one of the keys to bringing the sector back to profitability.
Speaking at the carrier's annual meeting in New York, Parker applauded the merger of Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines -- saying the creation of the world's biggest carrier was a major step toward better streamlining the industry. But he noted that the combined company has less than one-quarter of the U.S. market, leaving a great deal of room for further consolidation."
Is this the start of a renewed attempt to merge with a further weakend UAL (whose credit rating got downgraded two notches today) in order to create a North American Star Alliance powerhouse?
Or will they try to merge with CO instead? It seems pretty clear to me that they do not think that they can make it on their own in the long run.
YOWza From Canada, joined Jul 2005, 4781 posts, RR: 17 Reply 1, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 8871 times:
Quoting HAJFlyer (Thread starter): Is this the start of a renewed attempt to merge with a further weakend UAL (whose credit rating got downgraded two notches today) in order to create a North American Star Alliance powerhouse?
I think UA is the more likely candidate if indeed a further dual legacy consolidation were to occur. That would be interesting!
Khobar From United States of America, joined Mar 2006, 2379 posts, RR: 4 Reply 2, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 8834 times:
Good grief, this is the funniest thing I've read in a while. What he's really saying is "We can't compete, so we need to eliminate the competition to force fewer and fewer passengers into fewer and fewer choices." Stunning business plan.
Mr. Parker - instead of calling for cutting choices, how 'bout you make your airline stand out to draw additional customers? Stop paying for those surveys that told you to charge for soft drinks and get your act together! If you are content to sink to the bottom of the toilet bowl, sooner or later you're going to get exactly what you deserve - flushed.
HAJFlyer From Switzerland, joined Sep 2005, 1466 posts, RR: 10 Reply 3, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 8802 times:
Quoting YOWza (Reply 1): if indeed a further dual legacy consolidation were to occur
This recession will make the impossible possible; just look at the auto industry: Who would have thought a year ago that Chrysler would be become a de facto subsidiary of Fiat?
Across the pond MOL, CEO of Ryanair, stated earlier this week that he might be interested in LH. While the chances of that take over ever happening are extremely slim, it shows that all options are on the table when it comes to the industry consolidation.
COEWR787 From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 305 posts, RR: 4 Reply 4, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 17 hours ago) and read 8768 times:
I wonder if Parker plans to put coin and/or credit card slots on toilets in his planes.
Sounds to me like he is looking for someone to make an offer to put him out of his misery?
HAJFlyer From Switzerland, joined Sep 2005, 1466 posts, RR: 10 Reply 5, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8765 times:
Quoting Khobar (Reply 2): Good grief, this is the funniest thing I've read in a while. What he's really saying is "We can't compete, so we need to eliminate the competition to force the force fewer and fewer passengers into fewer and fewer choices." Stunning business plan.
At least he has not - yet - applied for any of the TARP funds that the banks are now returning
AirframeAS From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 14150 posts, RR: 26 Reply 7, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8702 times:
Quoting HAJFlyer (Thread starter): Chief Executive Doug Parker said Wednesday the airline industry needs to get much smaller to stay viable, and consolidation is one of the keys to bringing the sector back to profitability.
Says the man who can't even get his labor groups to start acting like adults....
HAJFlyer From Switzerland, joined Sep 2005, 1466 posts, RR: 10 Reply 8, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8680 times:
Quoting Thestooges (Reply 6): It's not that much of a surprise, especially considering it wasn't long ago that Chrysler was owned outright by another European car company, Daimler.
OT: Well the difference is that Daimler - although massively mismanaged over the last decade -has long been regarded as one of Germany's most admired companies whereas Fiat was on the verge of bankruptcy not that long ago and its products (although much better recently) had acquired a well deserved reputation for sub-par reliability and quality.
Contrails From United States of America, joined Oct 2000, 1818 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8651 times:
Why don't we just ask Congress to create a national airline, a la Amtrak. We can can have a contest to pick a name. The possibilities are endless. The taxpayers own Government Motors now, so why not the national airline?
Don't laugh, it's very possible. And very scary. It would be the best thing that ever happened to Amtrak.
Mariner From New Zealand, joined Nov 2001, 22716 posts, RR: 88 Reply 10, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8637 times:
Quoting Khobar (Reply 2): Good grief, this is the funniest thing I've read in a while. What he's really saying is "We can't compete, so we need to eliminate the competition to force fewer and fewer passengers into fewer and fewer choices." Stunning business plan.
HAJFlyer From Switzerland, joined Sep 2005, 1466 posts, RR: 10 Reply 11, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8624 times:
Quoting AirframeAS (Reply 7): Why would ANYONE want to merge with US?!
Well if the US loosened its foreign ownership rules, LH - which has a stellar track record or integrating and turning around acquired carriers - might succeed in finally making a decent airline that people want to fly on out of US.
Given their strong position in Europe following the acquisition of Swiss, SN Brussels, Austrian and soon BMI they might be interested in venturing across the pond and picking up some distressed assets cheaply.
Jmc1975 From Israel, joined Sep 2000, 3159 posts, RR: 17 Reply 12, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8580 times:
Quoting AirframeAS (Reply 7): I wished HP never merged with US which was, IMO, the biggest mistake Parker & Co. made....
Actually it was a brilliant move by Parker to save the two companies. US was weeks from liquidation in 2005, and HP was in no position to take advantage of the void US would've left behind. HP would've lumbered along at roughly its pre-merger size, while the likes of WN, B6 and FL would've increased in size and gained market share. HP had a weaker cashflow and balance sheet than F9. Had HP stayed independent, it would've likely filed Chap.11 or even liquidated in early/mid 2008 when fuel prices skyrocketed in tandem with its historically weak revenue generation.
AirframeAS From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 14150 posts, RR: 26 Reply 13, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8530 times:
Quoting HAJFlyer (Reply 11): But of course that is never going to happen..
And you are correct.
Quoting Jmc1975 (Reply 12): Actually it was a brilliant move by Parker to save the two companies.
Not to beat a dead horse with a stick for the millionth time but....HP wasn't the one needing to be saved. It was US that was needing to be saved. And look where US (as a whole) is now...
Quoting Jmc1975 (Reply 12): Had HP stayed independent, it would've likely filed Chap.11 or even liquidated in early/mid 2008 when fuel prices skyrocketed in tandem with its historically weak revenue generation.
Maybe a Ch. 11, but not even close to a Ch. 7. The point was HP was doing far, far better than US ever did between 1995-2005 years.
A Safe Flight Begins With Quality Maintenance On The Ground.
COEWR787 From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 305 posts, RR: 4 Reply 14, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8497 times:
Quoting Contrails (Reply 9): Why don't we just ask Congress to create a national airline, a la Amtrak.
Mariner From New Zealand, joined Nov 2001, 22716 posts, RR: 88 Reply 15, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8463 times:
Quoting Jmc1975 (Reply 12): Actually it was a brilliant move by Parker to save the two companies. US was weeks from liquidation in 2005, and HP was in no position to take advantage of the void US would've left behind.
I agree. Doug Parker had certainly "bought time" for America West, but the future was not looking good.
Partly, it was the move move to LCC pricing - while they still had near legacy costs.
I also think Mr. Parker was correct to try and buy Delta,.
NorCal From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 2383 posts, RR: 5 Reply 16, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8463 times:
Quoting Khobar (Reply 2): Good grief, this is the funniest thing I've read in a while. What he's really saying is "We can't compete, so we need to eliminate the competition to force fewer and fewer passengers into fewer and fewer choices." Stunning business plan
He is absolutelty correct, there is way too much competition in the industry. There need to be fewer competitors so ticket prices can come up to a sustaibable level and airlines can actually make money. We have too many airlines chasing after market share with these ridiculous fare wars. Airlines should focus on profitability but they can't because they have to grab another airline's customers with super discounted tickets and hope their competitor runs out of money before they do. That might work if the competitor actually ran out of money instead of filing chapter 11 and coming back a few years later. Abusing chapter 11 is just like taking natural selection out of nature, it isn't good for the long term health of the ecosystem/industry.
Quoting Khobar (Reply 2): Mr. Parker - instead of calling for cutting choices, how 'bout you make your airline stand out to draw additional customers?
Hard to do when passengers will go through all kinds of suffering to save $5 on a ticket. When your customers only care about cost how in the world do you differentiate your product and stand out other than being cheaper?
Why not: Might as well go the whole way and call it Government Air (after Government Motors) and follow the European approach by establishing major Amtrak passenger rail hubs at large airports and then sell combined air/rail tickets.
Given the resurgence of passenger rail service in the US (e.g. the new proposed SAN-LAX-SFO high speed rail link) it would definitely make sense to take closer look at better inter-modal connection opportunities, but I am sure the rental car companies would spend countless millions on lobbying against such a proposal..
ScottB From United States of America, joined Jul 2000, 6361 posts, RR: 34 Reply 18, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8406 times:
Quoting AirframeAS (Reply 13): HP wasn't the one needing to be saved. It was US that was needing to be saved. And look where US (as a whole) is now...
As the poster to whom you replied stated:
Quoting Jmc1975 (Reply 12): HP had a weaker cashflow and balance sheet than F9. Had HP stayed independent, it would've likely filed Chap.11 or even liquidated in early/mid 2008 when fuel prices skyrocketed
America West had a liquidity issue looming in the 2006-2007 timeframe. And even had they gotten past that liquidity squeeze, the combination of the increase in fuel prices, economic weakness in both of their hubs, and the closed credit markets likely would have put them into Chapter 11 or Chapter 7.
The merger was a vehicle to get a bunch of private equity/hedge funds to invest in a recapitalized US Airways. They weren't going to back a restructuring of the old US Airways when the previous one had failed (largely because it simply was not aggressive enough). But these days, the East side is what's keeping the combined airline afloat.
Quoting Khobar (Reply 2): What he's really saying is "We can't compete, so we need to eliminate the competition to force fewer and fewer passengers into fewer and fewer choices."
What I think he's saying is, "Please buy us so that my stock options and restricted stock don't become worthless when this airline goes into Chapter 11."
MAH4546 From Sweden, joined Jan 2001, 31117 posts, RR: 74 Reply 19, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8394 times:
I say this often, and I'll say it again: I would like to see AA purchase US, with the following occuring:
*AA taking over the CLT hub.
*AA consolidating the LGA/DCA/BOS operations into their own.
*Shutting down PHX; moving some of that capacity to LAX.
*PHL becomes a much smaller focus city, around ~150-175 flights, keeping LHR/CDG/FRA/MAD, and concentrating on O&D.
*Move non-overlapping trans-Atlantic flights from PHL to JFK.
HAJFlyer From Switzerland, joined Sep 2005, 1466 posts, RR: 10 Reply 20, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8355 times:
Quoting NorCal (Reply 16): When your customers only care about cost how in the world do you differentiate your product and stand out other than being cheaper?
Well, one could see a correlation between CO's generally better product and their better financial shape. There are - and always will be - passengers willing to pay a little extra for a good legacy network airline product.
LH did not become one of the most successful airlines in Europe by copying Ryanair, but by developing their own value proposition.
COEWR787 From United States of America, joined Mar 2005, 305 posts, RR: 4 Reply 21, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8355 times:
Quoting HAJFlyer (Reply 17): Why not: Might as well go the whole way and call it Government Air (after Government Motors) and follow the European approach by establishing major Amtrak passenger rail hubs at large airports and then sell combined air/rail tickets.
But CO already does that with Amtrak at EWR. You don't need to have Am Airways to be able to do that.
AirframeAS From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 14150 posts, RR: 26 Reply 22, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8341 times:
Quoting ScottB (Reply 18): As the poster to whom you replied stated:
But then I stated later.....
Quoting AirframeAS (Reply 13): Maybe a Ch. 11, but not even close to a Ch. 7. The point was HP was doing far, far better than US ever did between 1995-2005 years.
Quoting ScottB (Reply 18): But these days, the East side is what's keeping the combined airline afloat.
I disagree. the East side is driving the airline to the ground. The West side is trying to keep the airline alive. See: pilots and rampers work groups, for example. Do a search on A.net, it details a lot of that.
Quoting ScottB (Reply 18): If CO wasn't willing to touch United, why on earth would they merge with the circus sideshow that is US Airways?
CO is doing real well these days, and kudos to them!
Quoting MAH4546 (Reply 19): I would like to see AA purchase US, with the following occuring:
*AA taking over the CLT hub.
*AA consolidating the LGA/DCA/BOS operations into their own.
*Shutting down PHX; moving some of that capacity to LAX.
*PHL becomes a much smaller focus city, around ~150-175 flights, keeping LHR/CDG/FRA/MAD, and concentrating on O&D.
*Move non-overlapping trans-Atlantic flights from PHL to JFK.
I like that idea. But abandoning PHX would be suicide since US has a lot of HP loyalists around still, regardless if the HP brand is gone or not.
A Safe Flight Begins With Quality Maintenance On The Ground.
USPIT10L From United States of America, joined Mar 2006, 3266 posts, RR: 8 Reply 23, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8324 times:
Quoting HAJFlyer (Thread starter): Is this the start of a renewed attempt to merge with a further weakend UAL (whose credit rating got downgraded two notches today) in order to create a North American Star Alliance powerhouse?
Or will they try to merge with CO instead? It seems pretty clear to me that they do not think that they can make it on their own in the long run.
UA would be too much of a risk for anyone to acquire or merge with right now. I think AA is the most viable option for US as far as a merger partner further down the road.
CO would just be a repeat of the DL/US fiasco, which only made sense in terms of US gaining more international presence, but otherwise would've been operation suicide. Everything overlapped. With CO, everything except IAH overlaps. EWR and PHL are just too darn close.
Quoting MAH4546 (Reply 19): I say this often, and I'll say it again: I would like to see AA purchase US, with the following occuring:
*AA taking over the CLT hub.
*AA consolidating the LGA/DCA/BOS operations into their own.
*Shutting down PHX; moving some of that capacity to LAX.
*PHL becomes a much smaller focus city, around ~150-175 flights, keeping LHR/CDG/FRA/MAD, and concentrating on O&D.
*Move non-overlapping trans-Atlantic flights from PHL to JFK.
HAJFlyer From Switzerland, joined Sep 2005, 1466 posts, RR: 10 Reply 24, posted (3 years 11 months 2 weeks 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 8327 times:
Quoting MAH4546 (Reply 19): would like to see AA purchase US, with the following occuring:
Well that would be an elegant solution as it would leave the US with a strong member of each of the three main alliances (if UA & CO were to merge as well):
One World: AA/US
Star Alliance: CO/UA
Skyteam: DL/NW
25 FlyPNS1: Overall, I agree with this idea except for your last point. Most of the non-overlapping flights from PHL-JFK would need significant feed in order to
26 USPIT10L: There's still 10 times the O&D at NYC than in PHL, period. As much as US has tried to build up PHL, there's significant limits to what the airport la
27 MAH4546: I disagree with you. It would only total nine new trans-Atlantic markets, three of which would benefit from BA/AA ATI, six of which have no non-stop
28 Wn676: How much different would that be from what happened to STL? I don't think downsizing PHX would hurt a combined AA/US that much.
29 AirframeAS: It may not but you'd be hurting the consumer base in PHX as a whole. And its economy, too. I don't know but it was foolish of AA to really downsize S
30 SPREE34: Actually, he really has little control over them in the pilot issue. The East unions have always been, and continue to be hard core. Their way or no
31 HAJFlyer: Well, more or less the same thing happended to RDU & RNO (both AA) and PIT (US), so STL is in good company
32 AirframeAS: Thank you for adding that. This type of mentality is what is driving, not only the East pilots but also the whole company to the ground right now. Al
33 FlyPNS1: There's also a lot more competition fighting for that O&D traffic. PHL has very little competition in terms of international traffic. US is the domin
34 MAH4546: I don't disagree. I was looking purely from a market. Forgot about ATH and MUC; but DUB and FRA are served from elsewhere and I saw that as overlap.
35 Alitalia744: Agree completely MAH4546. Lets truly allow the market to consolidate the way it needs to to ensure a successful U.S. aviation industry vs. giants and
36 AirframeAS: That is not going to happen and you know it.
37 Alitalia744: Lets put emotion aside. I know you love AS. I enjoy flying on AS as well, and just flew with them last week on two legs. They are great. However, we
38 AirframeAS: There is no emotion on my part. I never said I loved AS on any of these theads since the day I joined A.net. Nice try. AS is a codeshare whore and wh
39 413X3: To me this is a slap in the face of American economics. Basically more and more people are admitting a true free market system cannot work in the airl
40 Mariner: No one knows because it isn't a free market system. A free market demands that the strong survive and the weak fail. Chapter 11 completely undercuts
41 ScottB: It has nothing whatsoever to do with the work groups. Economic activity in America West's core markets is down significantly and air traffic has fall
43 Steeler83: I like this idea as well, but at 175 flights, I'd call that a secondary hub. I don't think PHX shold go away entirely tho. I think that also should r
44 Flighty: If expanding JFK were such a wonderful idea right now, AA would have done it. How does that have much to do with US at PHL? It would seem the market s
45 Eghansen: I would not call it funny. When you are the CEO of a company which is losing huge amounts of money, it is quite natural to attempt to fix the blame o
47 PhxIAHszxJNU: I would not under estimate the disproportional power the state of Alaska has when these things come before the Feds. I don't think it would be in the
48 Silentbob: There is no way a legacy carrier can compete with a startup when it comes to costs. Lease a few airplanes (with borrowed money), pay slightly above r
49 AirframeAS: Uncle Teddy isn't in power anymore. He got voted out of his U.S. Senate seat.
50 ScottB: The terminal has been built, though it was not built to the full originally-planned size, what with AA's scaled-back ambitions at JFK.
52 Mariner: Sorry, I don't know what that has to do with Chapter 11. mariner
53 AirframeAS: I think you have that backwards, but what does that have to do with the thread?
54 MAH4546: With what planes? If AA/US merge, there is no need for both. Do you think Parker actually cares? US Airways is the same airline that bragged about ho
55 AirframeAS: Why would AS want to move to T-6 at LAX? That place is a dump!!!!
56 FlyASAGuy2005: Doubt the CO part. CO has cleaned thair act up A LOT. I don't think they want to add garbage on top of a decent operation. Strange things happen in t
57 Mariner: Yes, really. And yes, if you can - why not? It serves a purpose for the creditors and - maybe - some employees and it generally screws the shareholde
58 SPREE34: Let's try it before we give up. And so far, it hasn't been tried in the US.
59 FlyASAGuy2005: And the BOD who "generally" watches from the sidelines as the airline is run into the ground for years. I guess it all depends on how you look at thi
60 Mariner: There you run into another problem, the quality of the BOD and what they perceive their role to be. Activist (protecting the shareholders) or rubber
61 UA772IAD: I'm not sure from his message if he is trying to find a merge for US, or trying to instigate other carriers to merge. However, it seems as though he
62 Alitalia744: Without intimate knowledge of the heads of Mssrs Anderson and The terminal should be undergoing reno in the near future from what I've heard. And they
63 ScottB: And T-3 isn't a dump? T-6 will facilitate connections with Delta, and they would have access to the FIS in T-7 (or could use a Delta gate in T-5 with
64 Mariner: I very much doubt that he "under-estimated" Southwest. America West competed directly with Southwest at their two main hubs, PHX and LAS. Mr. parker
65 MAH4546: I agree. However, LAX is the stronger power here. It would involve lawsuits, but its not impossible to force airlines out of leases from underutilize
66 Steeler83: It's too bad that they scaled back their ambitions. From what I understood, the terminal was supposed to have over 50 gates, but was scaled back to a
67 MAH4546: 29 gates. It is under-utilized as is, but the design allows gates to easily be added if AA ever desires.
68 FlyASAGuy2005: So true, and I echo this all the time. I couldn't give a rats is they are or are not #1/ #2 in a market so long as they are making money. Times of be
69 EA CO AS: The DOJ would require a combined AA/US to divest a fair amount of the LGA and BOS slots, cutting the size of each station. Sure, but we cannot say th
70 Steeler83: Fair enough. Given the economy, I guess they made the right decision regarding their JFK ops. New York (JFK) has tons of O&D both in terms of domesti
71 USPIT10L: LGA still can't support overseas flights. JFK and EWR are and will always be the primary international gateways to NYC. LGA is good for business traf
72 MAH4546: Obviously (and I assume you mean DCA slots). Still won't change the fact that it would make them dominant at both airports.
73 MAH4546: AA could roughly double their current JFK operation and still have a fair amount of space, depending on how spread the schedules are.
74 FlyASAGuy2005: Possible. With typical int'l turn times, not so sure, but not all flights are international although i've found ground time in JFK to be lengthier th
76 Reggaebird: I don't care what US Airways does as long as they stay away from Delta Airlines this time around. If US ever got their hands on DL I would have to giv
77 OA412: There is pretty much a snow balls chance in hell that you'll see US attempting another takeover of DL at this point.
78 AirframeAS: We fly into T-6 and I am ashamed that we even fly into that terminal. Like I said, it is a dump you wouldn't even believe! Oh, DL isn't in T-6, but C
79 LAXdude1023: I would think there would still be a need for some sort of PHX operation should this happen. What about destinations like YEG, BOI, BFL, etc. Would t
80 MAH4546: It could be a combination of things. BOI could go to DFW; YEG as well. BFL might do well with a daily CR7 to DFW and 2-3x ERJ to LAX. I don't think i
81 413X3: so then there are no examples of a free market system then?
82 Mariner: None that spring to mind. Smaller airlines have been "let go" around the world, but there are powerful umbilical cords between governments and their
83 Humberside: Some of those would be unwise IMO: A 3rd carrier on EDI-NYC would be a bloodbath Why serve STN when passengers will use existing LHR services because
84 Alitalia744: DL has gates in T6, have for years. And DL will be taking more of T-6.
85 Flyb: YEG would seem to be placed into a different category do to the sheer amount of traffic between PHX and YEG especially between October and May. I wou
86 FURUREFA: It would. But what's really unfortunate, is that AA already has a "CLT" in RDU. It's a shame that never worked out... Matt
87 ItalianFlyer: Interesting post; IMHO for AA to merge with ANYONE would be an epic labor-relations nightmare...so I really don't see them sticking their toe in that
88 STT757: This makes so much sense, especially if AA/BA gain ATI approval. With ATI approval AA could turn those LHR slots that support their 5 daily JFK-LHR f
89 FlyPNS1: AA may handle more travelers than DL, but AA is still not the dominant player in NYC. In fact, no one really dominates NYC. That lack of domination i
90 MAH4546: But AA is the dominant player in Manhattan in the world of corporate travel contracts, something which Delta has been unsuccessful in stealing from A
91 STT757: True, they would be the most aggressive to acquire additional LGA slots. Again AA turning over the JFK-LHR flying to BA under ATI would allow AA to d
92 MAH4546: JFK-DUB/MAN were supposed to launch this summer on AA regardless before the economy went sour.
93 STT757: I think AA could move the A330-300s to MIA to replace 777-200ERs, which in turn could move to LAX to launch new Asian/Pacific flights (LAX-HKG, LAX-PV
94 Seemyseems: Is it likely that US will merge again? Perhaps UA or CO?
95 MAH4546: Problem with that is that Miami-South America needs a good-sized F cabin, and a 3-class A333 with the appropriate sized F and C cabins leaves too lit
96 Rampart: Yes, but even so, the "little extra" often amounts to something like $10. Drop in the bucket, in which case airport convenience, choice of flights, F
97 AirNZ: And I've said for a long time that they have no need to go chasing for market share........it's simply ego driven and what they want to do. No they d
98 AirframeAS: According to the LAWA website for LAX, DL is in T-5. The last time I flew into LAX...which was a couple months ago, DL was not in T-6. CO is in T-6 a
99 FlyPNS1: But as you mentioned earlier, most of these routes are more heavily driven by leisure traffic and the corporate contracts won't do that much. Not to
100 MAH4546: Corporate travel contracts can give a boost to Stockholm, Oslo, Manchester, Munich and Birmingham. We'll just agree to disagree here. You bring up va
101 LAXdude1023: Not all routes do. The 330 would be a good replacement on some routes like MIA-GIG or MIA-SCL and could be operated in conjunction with the 777 on ro
102 STT757: With AA acquiring US AA could drastically curtail the flying from PHL and PHX that competes heavily with WN, that would free up a lot of A319s and A32
103 Cws818: T6 really handles a grab bag of carriers: DL, CO, CM (departures only), UA, F9, FL, NK, B6, G4, perhaps SY (?). T6 also has the singular distinction
105 United1: They may have been at one point but EA was operating out of T6 when they shut down. TW was in T3 when AA bought them.
106 Cws818: In the late 1980s and up until the Texas Air purchase, EA was in T3's eastern dome, now occupied by Virgin America (so was Piedmont, I think). After
107 Ryefly: The industry doesn't need more consolidation. The majors just need to drastically cut back on its regional jet affiliates and invest in larger more fu
108 ItalianFlyer: AMEN!!!! As I said in my earlier post ....IMO there is room at the table for everyone...but this notion that everyone has to have a presence (with re
109 AADC10: No, it is a terrific business plan. It is lousy for the passengers but good for the business. US is one of the smallest and weakest of the legacy car
110 413x3: But I wasn't talking about just airlines, there can't be any examples of a free market system anywhere if you think bankruptcy laws do not allow a fr
111 STT757: Pre Texas air Corp takeover EA was with TWA in T3, TWA did all the handling for the Eastern flights. Post Texas Air Corp takeover EA was in T6 with C
112 OA412: I know for a fact that EA was still at T3 in June 86 since I distinctly remember seeing their aircraft there when I flew PA out of T2.
113 STT757: I too know for a fact that Eastern was in T6 (the gates DL is using now) in the Summer of 1989 (I saw them myself), as I said the move happened somet
114 AirframeAS: Again, DL flies out of T-5. Evidence of this was when I last flew into LAX, I clearly saw DL flying OUT of T-5 and there were no gate podiums that ha
115 DCA-ROCguy: The facts that Doug Parker can't get his union problems solved, and still apparently has the empire-building bug, do not constitute reasons for consol
116 Mariner: That may be true, given the load factors, but revenue has fallen off a cliff and very few airlines are making any money. This suggests to me that a n
117 AirframeAS: The sad thing is he probably never will. I wouldn't want this kind of reputation at all if I was running an airline....
118 DCA-ROCguy: That may be true, given the load factors, but revenue has fallen off a cliff and very few airlines are making any money. This suggests to me that a nu
119 FlyPNS1: But you ignore a few other key variables, notably fuel and labor. In terms of fuel, the long-term reality is that $100/barrel oil will become the nor
120 Mariner: But that suggests precisely that there is too much capacity - "too many seats." mariner
121 EXAAUADL: No what Parker actually says makes zero zense. he says the industry cant survive at its current size 1. Then why not let some carriers go out of busi
122 Mariner: It did to me. Okay, why not? Let Congress abolish the Chapter 11 laws. The free market? mariner
123 EXAAUADL: The NW/DL merger has shattered on of the long standing myths about the airline industry. That is: That if one carrier merged with another it would tri
124 AirframeAS: It is shocking to see a F9 shareholder say this in the light of F9 in Chapter 11 protection.
125 Mariner: They may not be looking for merger partners - perhaps - but all the (big) airline CEO's are singing from the same hymn book: http://finance.yahoo.com
126 Mariner: Shocking? It shouldn't be. If there were no Chapter 11, then United (and others) would be long gone and Frontier's situation at DEN might have been v
127 DCA-ROCguy: But that suggests precisely that there is too much capacity - "too many seats." A small amount that AA can deal with on their own, without anything as
128 Mariner: I think that is probably the attitude of most of the (big) airline CEO's - "if we can just get through this crisis, then, when the good times roll...
129 FlyPNS1: But if airlines raise fares, they'll have fewer customers and need to dump capacity. Mergers are part of the free market. They go on routinely in mos
130 DCA-ROCguy: But if airlines raise fares, they'll have fewer customers and need to dump capacity. If it comes to that, let them. By parking planes, not merging. Bu
131 MogandoCI: i think the better headline would be while US's CEO hopes for consolidation, everyone else prays for US's dissolution
132 FlyPNS1: World economies are already learning to tolerate them. Here we are in the middle of a nasty recession and oil is already above $70/barrel and people
133 OA412: I'm not doubting. Sorry if you thought that was my intention. I should have added that whenever the move happened, it was after June 1986.
134 EXAAUADL: your quotes talking about industry woes are the result of the recession, not the result of a combined NW/DL stealing everyone's traffic and revenue b
135 Mariner: No. I simply disagree with some of your assessments. Or - as long as non-viable airlines can stay alive through Chapter 11. mariner
136 Rampart: Every time I hear this, I think of the live lobster slowly tolerating the rising temperature of his pot of water. At some point, he'll boil and be de
137 EXAAUADL: Even more than that, it is too easy to start and airline
138 USAirways787: I find Mr. Parker to be an interesting human being to say the least. He will sit there and say the industry needs to be smaller, yet he bought USAirwa
139 Mariner: It is more difficult to kill one - because of Chapter 11. I don't see why it is hypocritical - that combination of the two parts made the whole somew
140 Flighty: US and HP retired so many airplanes after about 2004, it was basically an entire airline that got eliminated. Also, NW and DL are going to retire so
142 EXAAUADL: False if one of them would have gone out of business or if revenue synergies allowed US to shrink less than US + HP were eventually forced to.
143 Mariner: I'm not sure what is false. All I know is what has happened, not what might have happened. mariner
144 ScottB: Oil isn't above $70/bbl because there's intrinsic demand (tied to consumption) for oil. Oil has gone up because confidence in the dollar has declined
145 United1: DL has two gates in T6 pretty much all to themselves (61,63) and has access to 65 when they need it. All three gates are former Eastern gates that DL
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