Airtran goes for Midwest Airlines

[TWA Dude]

The question is, which one will this be, since it's a hostile takeover bid?

It's obvious AirTran will be the surviving entitly and due to their size it likely means their pilot union will take over as well unless ALPA is able to get enough of them to mail in cards calling for a representative election -- and wins. So the MW guys can most definitely get screwed in this. That's why they're against it.

 

[ultrarunner]

An offer with a 24% premium over the current stock price prior to the offer. And the offer is likely to go higher...that's an excellent premium on the stock price. A shareholder would be crazy not to dump it.

 

[fam62c]

This would probably spell doom for Skyway.

I don't think that this merger will happen unless AirTran increases their offer but if they are serious they can probably come up with enough additional cash to sell the deal to the shareholders. I'm wondering what would happen to Skyway in all of this? AirTran had a brief relationship with Air Wisconsin and decided, like most discounters, that they don't need any feed. Who knows, maybe AirTran wouldn't rule out a small wholly-owned with some RJ's for small markets and MKE/MCI feed because these hubs are WAY smaller than ATL. There's actually a very small possibility that this could be good for Skyway because AirTran has the capability to inject some cash into Skyway for much needed growth and fleet improvement..........but this is a real long-shot. Based on the AirTran business model I'm guessing that Skyway would be history. One thing to consider is that AirTran would need to dispose of Skyway and the 328's that are on long-term leases. I doubt anybody really wants the Skyway certificate and all that goes with it because the fleet is very undesirable. I wonder if AirTran is accounting for the "Skyway Disposal" costs when it talks about the cost savings that will be realized with a combined carrier? Just something to think about.

 

[Fly-By-Cable]

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=64267&p=irol-eventdetails&EventId=1436020

 

[Ualexpress]

AirTran has stated that they will keep all cities in the Midwest system. So I assume this means they will keep Skyways.

 

[400ADude]

Fletch:
Can you imagine chuck/einstein/lawman/400ahole right about now???
He's probably already pooped his diapers!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Let me know how good of a gear swinger he is for ya??

737
Oh yeah, she's just a flight attendant for Skyway anyway!

Obsessed again are you? I would worry about your company rather than Midwest or Airtrash. Both of these companies are in a lot better shape than Delta.

 

[Flydaplane]

Listen to the conference call from this morning. They're keeping Midwest Connect, at least for now.
Upgrade at Midwest is non existant right now 10+ years. Midwest's pay is actually better by $1 for FO's than Airtran's (according to airlinepilotcentral.com), so no pay raise for the Midwest guys. Interesting note is that many pilots have stock options, would they vote for the merger and take short term $ or against it to preserve their positions? The true question is whether the Midwest board will be pressured into even addressing this. They kept it secret up until today. Smart play by Leonard.
Put the route maps of Midwest/Airtran/Alaskan together and you could go anywhere in US and Mexico you want to. Alaska has 737's on order so common fleet type as well, put that together with all the merger mania and the world or aviation gets a whole lot more interesting. HMMM
Doesn't airtran have a number of options for 737's as well as their firm order?

 

[Lear70]

Interesting note is that many pilots have stock options, would they vote for the merger and take short term $ or against it to preserve their positions? The true question is whether the Midwest board will be pressured into even addressing this. They kept it secret up until today. Smart play by Leonard.

Oh I can guarantee you the board will have to address it... that's the whole point of going public with it.

As far as the pilots,,, preserve WHAT positions?

As you noted, upgrade time is a LOT longer, the fleet MUCH smaller, future growth in serious question. What would they lose by coming to Airtran besides their own little fiefdom?

A lot of F/O's stand to gain considerably if the integration were to go DOH, or even if the integration went 5 to 1, so there's a large chunk of stock option votes in favor of.

The NPA came out with a statement saying they give it a slightly better than 50/50 chance of going through.

I think (unfortunately) it's closer to 70/30. Anyone want to bet a C-note on it?

 

[FDJ2]

Alpa merger language doesn't mean squat. Alpa didn't help TWA /AA .

The ALPA merger policy was not a part of the AA/TWA integration since the TWA pilots conceded their ALPA merger protections before the acquisition.

 

[ultrarunner]

I don't know what the strike price was of all those stock options awarded to the pilots, but they prly 'aint underwater anymore, and if the current price holds for another two days, I bet they all vest!