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US Airways Group Inc/NEW
US Airways' Bid for Delta Would Cut Air Service, Senators Say
By John Hughes
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- US Airways Group Inc.'s hostile takeover bid for Delta Air Lines Inc. would cut air service in some cities if it succeeds, two U.S. senators said.
``We're going to lose service, and it will result in higher prices,'' said Senator Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican. ``It is hard to believe you will continue the same service.''
Senator Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, said he is ``a little concerned'' about the merger plan. ``This could mean less service,'' Lott said today in Washington. ``It would lead to some of these routes being eliminated.''
Senators aired their merger views at a Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on airline consolidation as Atlanta-based Delta's creditors committee continued evaluating US Airways' $9.77 billion offer.
A Delta-US Airways tie-up would combine the third- and seventh-largest U.S. carriers by traffic, creating the world's largest airline. US Airways Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker has said no community would lose air service in a merger.
Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein said he agreed with Lott that the debt load at a merged airline would force service cuts to smaller cities.
The best way to preserve flights, Parker said, is to have larger, stronger airlines such as the one his merger plan would create.
Parker is waiting to hear whether Delta's bankruptcy creditors will meet a Feb. 1 deadline to urge the airline to open its books to Tempe, Arizona-based US Airways and trigger an antitrust review. Without those steps, US Airways will pull its bid, he said yesterday in an interview.
In the U.S. House, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's aviation panel has set a Feb. 15 hearing on industry consolidation, ``with a focus on US Airways' proposal to merge with Delta Air Lines,'' according to the committee's Web site.
To contact the reporters on this story: John Hughes in Washington at [email protected] ;
Last Updated: January 24, 2007 12:19 EST
Other articles:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=LCC:US&sid=a3W1zjBLqI4M
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=LCC:US&sid=aeltCbI5nA0Q
LCC:US
US Airways Group Inc/NEW
US Airways' Bid for Delta Would Cut Air Service, Senators Say
By John Hughes
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- US Airways Group Inc.'s hostile takeover bid for Delta Air Lines Inc. would cut air service in some cities if it succeeds, two U.S. senators said.
``We're going to lose service, and it will result in higher prices,'' said Senator Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican. ``It is hard to believe you will continue the same service.''
Senator Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, said he is ``a little concerned'' about the merger plan. ``This could mean less service,'' Lott said today in Washington. ``It would lead to some of these routes being eliminated.''
Senators aired their merger views at a Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on airline consolidation as Atlanta-based Delta's creditors committee continued evaluating US Airways' $9.77 billion offer.
A Delta-US Airways tie-up would combine the third- and seventh-largest U.S. carriers by traffic, creating the world's largest airline. US Airways Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker has said no community would lose air service in a merger.
Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein said he agreed with Lott that the debt load at a merged airline would force service cuts to smaller cities.
The best way to preserve flights, Parker said, is to have larger, stronger airlines such as the one his merger plan would create.
Parker is waiting to hear whether Delta's bankruptcy creditors will meet a Feb. 1 deadline to urge the airline to open its books to Tempe, Arizona-based US Airways and trigger an antitrust review. Without those steps, US Airways will pull its bid, he said yesterday in an interview.
In the U.S. House, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's aviation panel has set a Feb. 15 hearing on industry consolidation, ``with a focus on US Airways' proposal to merge with Delta Air Lines,'' according to the committee's Web site.
To contact the reporters on this story: John Hughes in Washington at [email protected] ;
Last Updated: January 24, 2007 12:19 EST
Other articles:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=LCC:US&sid=a3W1zjBLqI4M
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=LCC:US&sid=aeltCbI5nA0Q
