Gordon is in the DAL Game!

[Freight Dog]

I doubt he'd take on the task of running an airline that's in direct competition with Continental.

Just my .02 cents.

 

[DLax85]

Bet I have more time upside down on fire with one flamed out shooting an an ILS than you have total...

Ironspud - Let JT8D go....as we both know, many (most) of the oldhead USAF pilots started their aviation career in the T-41 and are proud of it (I did/am)...in fact, I just reconnected with a buddy at FEDEX who was in my Hondo class in 1985...the last time we'd seen each other was at a Cope Thunder exercise in the PI in the late 80s...many thanks to all of the T-41 instructors who taught us the basics....they wore that .15 patch proudly!
Happy Holidays.

 

[CALnTX]

I doubt he'd take on the task of running an airline that's in direct competition with Continental.


It would be just another steal from the old CAL management team......Haustein has already joined the present management clowns over there and mad some postive changes

 

[~~~^~~~]

Gordon... phone home.

Perhaps the only road to a Guam base does not start in Houston. It would be a much better match than US Air. however, the integration shakes out I'd be happy to be one after TK.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Is TK going back to DAL or is he going to stay out and continue the coporate gig in WI?

 

[General Lee]

Isn't Bonderman via his Texas Pacific Group one of the main parties involved with USAir (via AWA) and possibly with this takeover? As I remember it, Bonderman and Bethune hate each other, and in a major dispute both left CAL--Bonderman left the BOD and Bethune left his CEO job. I wonder how Gordon feels about Bonderman now?


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[Widgeon]

737Pylt and JT8D-

IronSpud is one hell of an aviator and a true Gentleman! I believe your "intel" about him not being well liked is most sincerely incorrect- there is no reason to come on here bashing someone on BS you "heard" somewhere.

 

[JetMonkey]

Isn't Bonderman via his Texas Pacific Group one of the main parties involved with USAir (via AWA) and possibly with this takeover? As I remember it, Bonderman and Bethune hate each other, and in a major dispute both left CAL--Bonderman left the BOD and Bethune left his CEO job. I wonder how Gordon feels about Bonderman now?


Bye Bye--General Lee

Not anymore TPG sold it's stake when the merger happend.

 

[General Lee]

Not anymore TPG sold it's stake when the merger happend.

The DOJ would shoot it down regardless. Too much overlap. Everyone, including Gordon will see that. The two largest hubs are 220 miles apart, not including all of the upper East Coast hubs--PIT, CVG, JFK, PHL, and the Shuttles. And, 18 different fleet types. Ridiculous.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[General Lee]

Some of the recent quotes Gordon and others know

1. Oberstar (chairman of the transportations sub committee) said that by publicly exposing the potential dangers of airline consolidation, his committee may be able to "throw cold water" on merger mania. "We can nudge the Justice Department to take the action they must" to prevent a loss in competition, he said.
Oberstar also said opposition to consolidation is bipartisan. "I’ve heard from members on both sides of the aisle" as worries have grown about the impact on jobs and service, he said. "I haven’t heard anyone come forward and say this is a really good deal."




2. Standard & Poor's credit analyst Philip Baggaley says that Delta's proposed reorganization plan involves less risk than US Airways' merger proposal. "[The plan] would not face antitrust review by the Department of Justice, would not involve potentially difficult labor integration, and would not require the issuance of $4 billion in acquisition debt," said Baggaley in a Dec. 19 note. (S&P, like BusinessWeek.com, is owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies.)



3. The reasons Delta is saying no. Parker tries to refute them, but doesn't seem to understand the actual overlap and how the USAir/UAL deal was shot down over one area with overlap (IAD/DCA), versus the current huge overlap proposed in the USAir/DL takeover (LAS/PHX/SLC, CVG/PIT/JFK/PHL/Shuttles, and the really huge CLT/ATL overlap):

Company said that the U.S. Airways proposal was structurally flawed and could not be executed as claimed by U.S. Airways because of erroneous economic assumptions, higher debt-loads (needed to fund the merger), and, labor and antitrust issues. Insurmountable hurdles to the U.S. Airways deal include, but are not limited to the following:

1. The flawed economic assumptions underpinning the “synergies” in the US Airways proposal would result in vastly lower value than claimed by US Airways.
2. The combined company would have the highest total debt load in the airline industry -approximately $23 billion - seriously limiting its financial flexibility and ability to withstand the volatility of the airline industry (and would force the new entity to cut some 10,000 jobs).\
3. There are overwhelming labor issues that would preclude the combination from attaining the claimed synergies. The Delta unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, the union representing Delta’s more than 6,000 pilots, has said - and Delta agrees - that Delta’s pilot contract (which runs from June 1,2006 – December 31, 2009) would prohibit the combined company from implementing capacity reductions that US Airways asserts are the economic foundation of the proposed transaction. 4. The transaction is not likely to receive antitrust clearance from regulators because it would result in loss of competition, thereby, negatively impacting consumers and their communities: (i) The proposed merger would eliminate or reduce competition on thousands of domestic city pairs (origin and destination cities/airports), impacting millions of passengers per year; (ii) the combined entity would operate 52% of slots and 40% of gates at major East Coast airports; (iii) there would be no competitive low cost carrier presence (> 5% passenger share) at any of the 71 U.S. cities dominated by the merger; (iv) and, the deal would substantially reduce competition at Boston-Logan, New York-LaGuardia, and Washington-Reagan National airports (share position analysis based on passenger traffic); Ergo, city pair concentration and route dominance would lead to reduced competition, fewer discounted seats, and higher passenger fare levels—subjecting the US Airways proposal to a lengthy Department of Justice review process, during which Delta would be forced to remain in bankruptcy.




And, Parker says he could merge everything together by June of 2007, even though he isn't even close with his own USAir/AWA integration. The East Coast, West Coast ALPA unit (AWA and USAir) also publically denounced this merger for that reason. Keep it going Doug.....



Bye Bye---General Lee