And so it begins... mergers.

[nonstop]

Just heard the "breaking news" on CNBC that Delta Airlines CEO is seeking board approval to approach UAL and NWA for a proposed merger that may be announced as soon as this weekend. I believe they said the source was the WSJ but I can't find an official article.

 

[FUZZO]

heard the same also right before the fed chairman came on....

 

[BILL LUMBERG]

Just heard the "breaking news" on CNBC that Delta Airlines CEO is seeking board approval to approach UAL and NWA for a proposed merger that may be announced as soon as this weekend. I believe they said the source was the WSJ but I can't find an official article.

"Folks, from the cockpit, we're going through an area of rough air, please check your seatbelts...."

Good luck to everybody, this is gonna suck!!!!

 

[RedDogC130]

deleted...found what I was looking for

 

[nonstop]

Here we go, the Reuters link referencing the WSJ article (WSJ is subscription only).

Delta aims to start UAL, Northwest merger talks - WSJ

 

[instructordude]

Here come the forloughs.

 

[FUZZO]

here is what i got.

NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) plans on Friday to ask its board permission to begin formal merger talks with both Northwest Airlines Corp (NWA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and United Airlines parent UAL Corp (UAUA.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal said that Delta would aim to ultimately choose between the two carriers.
Delta was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Chris Reiter; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Yeah, who else is going to apply to NJA?

 

[MINIME]

No furloughs if it's DAL/NWA. I suspect that CAL and LUV will be scrambling to find their nitch as well. If it's UAL, that could be the reason LUV is beefing up at DEN.

Anybody want to guess who CAL will go after? Anybody wanna guess who LUV might acquire or what parts?

 

[General Lee]

This was what came out yesterday...

No furloughs if it's DAL/NWA. I suspect that CAL and LUV will be scrambling to find their nitch as well. If it's UAL, that could be the reason LUV is beefing up at DEN.

Anybody want to guess who CAL will go after? Anybody wanna guess who LUV might acquire or what parts?

AIRLINE STOCKS
Airlines turn south amid broad sector sell-off

By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch
Last update: 1:09 p.m. EST Jan. 9, 2008

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Airline stocks took a sharp turn lower Wednesday afternoon, swooning following a strong open, as investors continued their flight

Major carriers' shares soared earlier on merger speculation, and investment research firm UBS raised its ratings for the legacy group in the belief a major tie-up is likely within the next six months. Such a deal would put pressure on other carriers to consolidate.
"We think a Delta/Northwest deal is most likely," UBS said in an investor note, adding that this "would likely put investor pressure on Continental to act, perhaps by merging with United."
UBS raised its rating on four stocks -- Delta Air Lines (DAL:

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[AKMD80GUY]

CAL and Alaska or Delta/NWA/Alaska menaje a' trois. I have heard both around SEA.

 

[av8tor76]

ual stock up $4.51 on news....

 

[M-crit]

No furloughs if it's DAL/NWA. I suspect that CAL and LUV will be scrambling to find their nitch as well. If it's UAL, that could be the reason LUV is beefing up at DEN.

Anybody want to guess who CAL will go after? Anybody wanna guess who LUV might acquire or what parts?

Are you kidding, they have very incompatible fleets. Expect a lot of layoffs if this goes through.

 

[Bavarian Chef]

I am sorry, did someone say menaje a trois? I got sidetracked.

 

[MINIME]

Are you kidding, they have very incompatible fleets. Expect a lot of layoffs if this goes through.

That may be so, but do you really believe these airframes to go away from one day to the next, if ever? I personally don't think so. There will be fences for years to come. In the mean time, everyone should be safe at their spots. Plus, there will be retirements on the NWA side. Combining the retirements and medical outs that might occur, I'd be very surprised if they have to furlough. I could see an immediate stop to hiring however.

 

[nonstop]

Loosening of scope..................Check
Catastrophic terrorist attack.....Check
Recession..............................Check
Bankruptcies..........................Check
Record pay cuts.....................Check
Termination of pensions...........Check
Elimination of work rules...........Check
Record high fuel.....................Check
Age 65..................................Check
Mergers.................................Check
Second recession....................Check

Career destruction checklist complete to cabotage.
Standing by for the career change checklist.

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

Just called Bob's Big Rig School, got a hold on the next class....says the phones are ringing off the hook and they are not sure why.......

 

[Flying the Line]

Doug's gonna end up buying NWA for US, CAL will buy UAL and DAL will be holding an empty bag.

 

[PCL_128]

Ehhhh. This is going to get messy.

 

[Furloughed80]

Loosening of scope..................Check
Catastrophic terrorist attack.....Check
Recession..............................Check
Bankruptcies..........................Check
Record pay cuts.....................Check
Termination of pensions...........Check
Elimination of work rules...........Check
Record high fuel.....................Check
Age 65..................................Check
Mergers.................................Check
Second recession....................Check

Career destruction checklist complete to cabotage.
Standing by for the career change checklist.

This is hilarious, yet so true.

 

[General Lee]

Doug's gonna end up buying NWA for US, CAL will buy UAL and DAL will be holding an empty bag.

No, I doubt that. I think Delta is looking at NWA or part of UAL--maybe the INTL routes while allowing CAL to pick up the DOM routes and their beloved DEN hub they miss so. Look at it this way. What does Delta gain from a UAL merge? Besides the Asian routes they would get a lot of debt and a lot of overlap. NWA would merge with CAL and become the powerhouse that DAL and NWA could have been---strong ASIA (NWA), strong Europe (CAL from EWR), and a southern hub (IAH). That would be stupid for DL to do. I think DL is considering UAL so that Pardus Capital will get off their butt. Most analcysts have pointed out that NWA and DL would be the likely combo.

Also, who wants to merge with USAir? That is another quagmire. And if somehow Delta was out "holding an empty bag" as you say, I think that would be better than getting into a bad merger.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[Secret Squirrel]

General, tell me a merger lately that has gone well. Somebody is getting screwed. TWA/AA, US/AWA, etc, etc. NWA is a very unhappy group and management would love it if pilots were to turn their venom against the DAL group as opposed to constantly at management. The NWA group is still pissed about the republic merger.

 

[bpapaDC8]

That cabotage checklist is a doosy. LOL

Do you think the Virgin America guys realize they are reading from it?

 

[On Your Six]

I agree that Delta would be very interested in UAL's international routes - Asia and London Heathrow - to complement Delta's current route structure. An asset sale would work in that case.

That said, I can't see how adding UAL's domestic network would benefit Delta that much beyond just removing a direct competitor and some capacity - Delta already has a domestic network. There's no strategic benefit to adding DEN, SFO and IAD hubs given Delta's current hub network. Sure, IAD is a strong hub for UAL, but ATL also serves many of the same mid-size connector markets for Delta. International routes (Asia and LHR) would be very valuable. Fortunately, merging with NWA could also provide the needed Asian routes.

 

[jke406]

Doug's gonna end up buying NWA for US, CAL will buy UAL and DAL will be holding an empty bag.

speaking of an empty bag, where's Tanker Clown on this subject?

 

[crjdxr]

I am sorry, did someone say menaje a trois? I got sidetracked.

Yeah, but I don't think he was talking about the cool one.

 

[Tanker Clown]

speaking of an empty bag, where's Tanker Clown on this subject?[/quote

Hey there 406. Good luck with your merger. To me, it's like merging the Atlanta Falcons and the Miami Dolphins. How good is the combination? Delta (money loser and BK veteran) + Northwest (money loser and BK veteran) = P.O.'d people, more losses, pay cuts, and furloughs.

Any way you slice it, there will be unhappy people and money lost.

 

[General Lee]

General, tell me a merger lately that has gone well. Somebody is getting screwed. TWA/AA, US/AWA, etc, etc. NWA is a very unhappy group and management would love it if pilots were to turn their venom against the DAL group as opposed to constantly at management. The NWA group is still pissed about the republic merger.

The US/AWA merger was a seamless merger, route wise and hub wise. Seniority wise, it did not work, but binding arbitration was applied and the East guys turned into babies. The merger itself was a success, the babies of the East have created a disaster. The other mergers you have described have not worked. NWA employees do NOT like their management, no doubt there. That is where our management falls in. Most of our employees (not the pilots) love them, and continue to vote DOWN union representation. Why? They are treated well, and most (at least 51%) of the people in ATL get what they want--and the vote is always turned down. NWA employees are looking for better, and even though we pilots are cautious, most of the others would like a friendlier management, and ours projects that. NWA people want Steenland out.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[General Lee]

speaking of an empty bag, where's Tanker Clown on this subject?[/quote

Hey there 406. Good luck with your merger. To me, it's like merging the Atlanta Falcons and the Miami Dolphins. How good is the combination? Delta (money loser and BK veteran) + Northwest (money loser and BK veteran) = P.O.'d people, more losses, pay cuts, and furloughs.

Any way you slice it, there will be unhappy people and money lost.

Hmmmm? Both companies clean up in BK, and are stronger than most (with exception of SWA--the airline that won't hire you). Put both cleaned up companies together, and you get a really strong company. But TANKY knows better, from his desk. Slider, you stink!


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[jke406]

Any way you slice it, there will be unhappy people and money lost.

Sounds very much like your last trial for lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor.

In any case, maybe this will be the chance for the legacies to finally get something right. But I'm not holding my breath.