General Lee
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2002
- Posts
- 20,442
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
December 7 2006: 2:20 PM EST
Some of the deal's critics question whether he's biting off more than he can chew this time.
"I like the guy a lot, I think he's brilliant, but I think it's a mistake," said airline industry consultant Michael Boyd. "Putting these airlines together is going to be very messy, very inefficient. He sees a window of opportunity and wants to jump through it. But that window may be on the 48th floor."
And others question whether he'll even get the chance to try to do the deal. The Delta pilots were protesting Wednesday outside the closed headquarters of the old US Air near Washington. The pilots there, as well as those at US Air and America West, are all represented by a powerful union, the Air Line Pilots Association. Convincing pilots that the seniority lists can be merged without hurting them will be difficult.
Meanwhile, for its part, Delta management is wooing creditors to win their support to emerge from bankruptcy as an independent airline. Parker will have to convince creditors to accept US Air stock that's already nearly tripled since it started trading in September 2005.
Then there are regulatory hurdles. Ray Neidl, analyst with Calyon Securities, says he sees only a 30 to 40 percent chance of the deal winning regulatory approval, since some markets in the South and East Coast would lose most of the competition they now see. And there are competitive issues that go beyond this deal.
"Washington will look at this very carefully. They know it's going to set off a round of consolidation," Neidl said. And even if regulators start to send a signal that a deal could be approved, US Air would face the risk of another carrier making its own deal for or with Delta.
Most of that article was about Parker and his love of bungy jumping. I chose to leave some of it out. Interesting, though.
Bye Bye--General Lee
December 7 2006: 2:20 PM EST
Some of the deal's critics question whether he's biting off more than he can chew this time.
"I like the guy a lot, I think he's brilliant, but I think it's a mistake," said airline industry consultant Michael Boyd. "Putting these airlines together is going to be very messy, very inefficient. He sees a window of opportunity and wants to jump through it. But that window may be on the 48th floor."
And others question whether he'll even get the chance to try to do the deal. The Delta pilots were protesting Wednesday outside the closed headquarters of the old US Air near Washington. The pilots there, as well as those at US Air and America West, are all represented by a powerful union, the Air Line Pilots Association. Convincing pilots that the seniority lists can be merged without hurting them will be difficult.
Meanwhile, for its part, Delta management is wooing creditors to win their support to emerge from bankruptcy as an independent airline. Parker will have to convince creditors to accept US Air stock that's already nearly tripled since it started trading in September 2005.
Then there are regulatory hurdles. Ray Neidl, analyst with Calyon Securities, says he sees only a 30 to 40 percent chance of the deal winning regulatory approval, since some markets in the South and East Coast would lose most of the competition they now see. And there are competitive issues that go beyond this deal.
"Washington will look at this very carefully. They know it's going to set off a round of consolidation," Neidl said. And even if regulators start to send a signal that a deal could be approved, US Air would face the risk of another carrier making its own deal for or with Delta.
Most of that article was about Parker and his love of bungy jumping. I chose to leave some of it out. Interesting, though.
Bye Bye--General Lee
