From an interview with Business Travel News
BTN: There has been a lot of talk in the industry about the inevitably of domestic airline consolidation. Do you anticipate such consolidation in the next couple of years?
Whitehurst: Over the next couple of years? Over the next century, I'm certain that there will be more consolidation. It's really going to depend on what happens in the economy. I don't see a lot happening really until the majors are all out of bankruptcy, so that's us and Northwest left to emerge.
The benefits are generally overrated and the costs are underrated, so it would have to be very compelling. I'm not sure that it will happen in this cycle. I certainly think it's far from inevitable. Stars have to align, both in Washington in terms of their openness to deal and where we stand relatively in the cycle and in terms of labor. I know a lot of people thought that somehow in this cycle it was going to force something to happen, but I generally think of consolidation happening at the low of the low and we clearly seem to be coming out of the low of the low of the cycle. I'm probably less optimistic that something happens than others. To be very clear, we are absolutely laser-focused on emerging stand-alone and so at this point we are not contemplating consolidating in the least.
BTN: There has been a lot of talk in the industry about the inevitably of domestic airline consolidation. Do you anticipate such consolidation in the next couple of years?
Whitehurst: Over the next couple of years? Over the next century, I'm certain that there will be more consolidation. It's really going to depend on what happens in the economy. I don't see a lot happening really until the majors are all out of bankruptcy, so that's us and Northwest left to emerge.
The benefits are generally overrated and the costs are underrated, so it would have to be very compelling. I'm not sure that it will happen in this cycle. I certainly think it's far from inevitable. Stars have to align, both in Washington in terms of their openness to deal and where we stand relatively in the cycle and in terms of labor. I know a lot of people thought that somehow in this cycle it was going to force something to happen, but I generally think of consolidation happening at the low of the low and we clearly seem to be coming out of the low of the low of the cycle. I'm probably less optimistic that something happens than others. To be very clear, we are absolutely laser-focused on emerging stand-alone and so at this point we are not contemplating consolidating in the least.
