MSNBC says...DAL/NWA and UAL/CAL

[Sonny Crockett]

Just saw a blurb on the tube that DAL/NWA merger to be announced next week, with a UAL/CAL merger as a result. All airline stocks up 5-10%.

 

[PeanuckleCRJ]

It's always next week...

 

[IXLR8]

It's always next week...

I have heard nothing all day.

 

[Tomct]

I have heard nothing all day.

Try turning on the TV.

 

[johnsonrod]

I heard SWA and Aero Mexico will be announced. Nice fleet of 737s (dumping the widebodies). Think about those nice layovers in Veracruz...

 

[DrewBlows]

How does something that hasn't been announced yet become announced? Once it's announced that it will be announced isn't it announced?

For instance, if I announce that next week I will announce that I will post on FlightInfo, haven't I already announced that I will post on FlightInfo?

 

[captain dad]

Why look forward in anticipation to something that is going to suck no matter what?

 

[General Lee]

Why look forward in anticipation to something that is going to suck no matter what?

Are you talking about your merger with Airtran? Remember, your boss said he would not be left out....

Well, remember that it may take awhile for any approval from the DOJ, and Oberstar wants to hold hearings etc..... We'll see......It will be interesting to see who else wants to get together.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[imacdog]

Are you talking about your merger with Airtran? Remember, your boss said he would not be left out....

Well, remember that it may take awhile for any approval from the DOJ, and Oberstar wants to hold hearings etc..... We'll see......It will be interesting to see who else wants to get together.


Bye Bye--General Lee

Why would AirTran merge with a corporate jet operator? Fairly large fleet dissimilarity I think.

 

[General Lee]

Why would AirTran merge with a corporate jet operator? Fairly large fleet dissimilarity I think.

Huh? His profile said he flies the left and right seat, which could be a lance Captain at SWA. Am I right? Is he a Netjets Pilot on the BBJ? I don't know. It's hard to tell, and I don't really care.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[Willy21]

Captian Dad is at NetJets.

 

[imacdog]

Huh? His profile said he flies the left and right seat, which could be a lance Captain at SWA. Am I right? Is he a Netjets Pilot on the BBJ? I don't know. It's hard to tell.

Bye Bye--General Lee

keep on with those ASSumptions.

 

[General Lee]

keep on with those ASSumptions.

Wow, you are awesome. Sounds like you may actually love that guy? That's cool, I guess. I think you should start the "I love Captain Dad---the official fan club and website." Sounds like a money maker....


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[PeanuckleCRJ]

I have heard nothing all day.

I was joking. Every week for the past 4 weeks some moron is saying "The merger is going to be announced next week!!!"

We need to hire the teamsters to use the old crowbar-to-the-knee tactics on these hedgefund managers. Don't forget the concrete shoes for use in the Detroit River.

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/28/airline-mergers-congress-oped-cx_esp_0129airlines.html

Commentary
Congress Fuels Airline Merger Madness
Evan Sparks 01.29.08, 6:00 AM ET
...
But the biggest challenge is merging two workforces. Airline employees are organized on the basis of seniority.
...
Missouri's senators, Democrat Claire McCaskill and Republican Kit Bond, unhappy with the way TWA workers fared in the buyout, offered a little-noticed amendment to the omnibus spending bill that brings back a regulation-era worker-protection policy. The law subjects mergers and buyouts to Sections 3 and 13 of the Civil Aeronautics Board's decision in the 1972 Allegheny-Mohawk merger.
...
The McCaskill-Bond amendment requires just two of the labor protections: that "provisions shall be made for the integration of seniority lists in a fair and equitable manner" and that disputes over seniority be submitted to binding arbitration.
...
With congressional guidance on integrating employee seniority lists, airlines face one less roadblock to their desired mergers.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/BIZ/801250339/1001

Delta's board of directors gave CEO Richard Anderson approval earlier this month to explore the possibility of a merger
...
A board decision is expected by Feb. 15.
...
Over the past decade, Delta has ranked higher than Northwest in the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, but Northwest gained ground last year and was two points higher than Delta.
...
Trippler said that didn't necessarily mean Northwest would push to keep its name and red-and-white livery alive. "Northwest is very directional in nature, and doesn't sound like a nationwide airline," Trippler said. "But there are other possibilities as well (for a name for DAL/NWA), including using 'NWA' or coming up with an entirely new name."
...
Delta's larger size and name recognition make it the favorite for the merged airline's name, if the partner should be Northwest. But, he said, it wouldn't be a deal breaker for either company.
...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20080122/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_airline_mergers

Airline merger issues: Name, HQ location
By HARRY R. WEBER, AP Business Writer Tue Jan 22, 9:11 AM ET
...
"I think we might be surprised who the buyer is and who the seller is (NWA/DAL)," Trippler said.
Trippler said one possible scenario he envisions is a combination where the two airlines maintain their separate names and keep their headquarters cities as operational hubs, but have one board of directors located in one city.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/020208dnbusamericanbrf.7f4270cf.html

CEO says Southwest Airlines is ready for consolidation


[SIZE=-1]07:25 AM CST on Friday, February 1, 2008

[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News
[/SIZE]

Southwest Airlines Co. chief executive Gary Kelly is talking more about the possibility of acquiring another airline.
...
"If there's an opportunity to acquire another carrier that does not have 737s, we have plans in mind about how we can deal with that," Mr. Kelly said.
"While that is an impediment to an acquisition, it's not a deal killer."

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/airtran-hopes-for-a-delta-northwest-merger/

AirTran Hopes for a Delta-Northwest Merger

January 30, 2008, 7:11 am
...

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/delta/stories/2008/01/31/hubs_0131.html

A Delta-Northwest merger would shift strength of hubs

By Jim Tharpe
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/31/08
More international flights from Atlanta. A smaller role for the Memphis airport and a bigger one for airports in Detroit, Salt Lake City and possibly Minneapolis.
...
airline consultant Terry Tripper. "It would be No. 1 to Europe. It would be very close to No. 1 to Asia. And it would be very big in Latin America, Mexico and the Caribbean."
...
new carrier would get in a Delta-Northwest combination.
...
"Atlanta is so big . It is so busy," Trippler said. "It may be a situation were they want to keep the Memphis hub going because it siphons off some of the Hartsfield traffic."

cliff
YIP