SWA/Airtran pilot integration thoughts, what will the new list look like?

[400ADude]

Well, you actually have two issues here. Anti-trust and Bond-McCaskill.

Aviation doesn't work like regular businesses in the U.S., we are the most highly-regulated DE-regulated industry known to man. Bond-McCaskill actually DOES prevent the wholesale purchase and liquidation of airlines by law. It's specifically designed to prevent a TWA type of transaction again by requiring that when a majority of a company or its assets are purchased (51% or more), they must take the entire operation with it and integrate the employees.

In this case, sure, they could liquidate large portions of AirTran's fleet, route structure, etc, but it would:

1. Defeat the purpose of the purchase, which is to artificially increase market share and create NEW GROWTH opportunities into new markets, specifically near-International and east coast feed out of Atlanta into the Southwest system, and

2. Require the integration of ALL employees and THEN you would have to furlough from a COMBINED list to satisfy the legal requirements of Bond-McCaskill. Somehow, I don't think Southwest plans to buy a company just to furlough large numbers of then-Southwest employees. Just doesn't make any sense, from a business OR company culture perspective.

Second, you'd open both boards up to anti-trust inquiries from the Dept of Justice (and those kinds of things put people in jail). Announcing the purchase of a company just to drive up the stock price then subsequently dumping the offer (such as A-dude inferred), would subject a LOT of people to inquiry on their stock trading choices just subsequent to both announcements.

Not to mention there's a $39 Million dollar "poison pill" for either side to walk away from the deal. You're telling me Southwest is somehow going to make almost $40 Million just from a "pump and dump"? Doesn't make ANY kind of business sense,,,

A-dude likely knows this; he's simply posting flame bait and seeing who takes the bait.

Was I posting flame bait or not?