Tilton talking merger again

[Ben Franklin]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0d6d9ef4-...ance&ft_ref=yahoo1&segid=03058&nclick_check=1


Sincerely,

B. Franklin

 

[ePilot22]

Can you cut and paste?




eP.

 

[Anonymous2]

United remains keen on consolidation

By Pilita Clark in London
Published: February 15 2010 20:53 | Last updated: February 16 2010 00:28

The head of United Airlines has hinted at the benefits of renewing merger talks with Continental Airlines, saying the market had judged in favour of rival Delta’s takeover of Northwest.
“The market capitalisation of Delta is approximately twice the combined market capitalisation of United and Continental,” said Glenn Tilton, chairman and chief executive of Chicago-based United.


Glenn Tilton, chairman and chief executive of United




“The investor seems to have spoken. The market seems to have suggested that scope and scale in a global business are important,” he told the Financial Times.
However, Mr Tilton, a prominent advocate of airline consolidation, played down the prospect of an imminent renewal of merger talks between United and Continental, which ended in 2008 amid soaring fuel costs and fading cash reserves.
Jeff Smisek, president of Continental, has since said that he was “very pleased” to remain independent but would review that position if Delta’s takeover of Northwest resulted in higher earnings and tougher competition.
“I think my counterpart [at Continental] has spoken and I think he’s been pretty clear,” Mr Tilton said. “So I accept that as their position and we’re taking full advantage of our partner relationship.”
Merger talks between United and Continental ended in April 2008. Continental then left the SkyTeam alliance headed by Delta and Air France, and joined United in the rival Star Alliance.
Delta merged with Northwest later in 2008, creating a group with a market capitalisation of $9.5bn, compared with a combined market value of just under $5.5bn for United and Continental.
Mr Tilton said he believed there would be another big airline merger within the next two years but declined to be more specific.
Mr Tilton, who spent more than two decades with the Texaco oil group before joining United in 2002, has been an outspoken critic of the web of international legal barriers to global airline consolidation.
He has stepped up his campaign in recent speeches, including one to the Aviation Club in London last week in which he said the airline industry had been marked by “our systemic failure to earn our cost of capital and achieve any level of consistent financial resilience”.
Comparing consolidation in other industries, he said: “Italy’s Fiat owns Chrysler. India’s Tata Motors owns Jaguar. Lenovo, a Chinese company, owns IBM’s PC business. Each is the product of mergers; each is the beneficiary of cross-border capital flows, and each demonstrates a corporate commitment to expand the reach of its business.
“Yet similar cross-border ownership is not permitted in the airline business. The bilateral system prevents cross-border consolidation, keeping the industry financially handicapped.”
















You're welcome.

 

[lookin4better]

The writing on the wall is pretty clear..... this merger is all but announced. This one will be very messy.

 

[Tail Gunner Joe]

Continental: “very pleased” to remain independent
United: Continental has spoken and I think he’s been pretty clear

Reporter conclusion: This is a hint of renewing merger talks

Me: Huh?!?

 

[crj567]

Continental: “very pleased” to remain independent
United: Continental has spoken and I think he’s been pretty clear

Reporter conclusion: This is a hint of renewing merger talks

Me: Huh?!?

Welcome to the airlines!

Mgmt (no matter which airline) is always gonna try and deflect attention from their true plans. When they say stuff like "we are very pleased to be independent," what they really mean is "we would be even more pleased" to merge with some other airline so that all the upper crust can take $40million packages and retire our asses down to the islands.... Screw all the employees, investors, passengers, and everyone else-we be rich!

 

[lookin4better]

I would love to see all the 70 seat jet flying at United get tossed in a merger due to Continentals scope..... THAT would be GREAT! and well worth a merger!

 

[trip]

I would love to see all the 70 seat jet flying at United get tossed in a merger due to Continentals scope..... THAT would be GREAT! and well worth a merger!

That would be stellar for Delta!

 

[Mike man]

I would love to see all the 70 seat jet flying at United get tossed in a merger due to Continentals scope..... THAT would be GREAT! and well worth a merger!

Yuppyguppy wants to take it all back...so it will never get tossed because he said so.

 

[Mr Hat]

You don't want it "tossed" but it would be good to capture it so it's flown by UniteCAL pilots.

 

[Anonymous2]

I would love to see all the 70 seat jet flying at United get tossed in a merger due to Continentals scope..... THAT would be GREAT! and well worth a merger!

That will truly be something to see. SkyWests's CR7's, Shuttle America E70's & Mesa CR7's would be eliminated from uax instantly. And now I pose the $64,000 question, which name do you all think would be kept? In my opinion, I think the older name should be kept (whichever one that is). Anyone know which of those two airlines have the more senior name?

Which name do you want kept?
CO?
UA?

Unitental
or, as someone once stated, Continited?

 

[CapnVegetto]

From what I understand, Tilton wanting to run the whole show is what killed the merger the first time.

The latest I've understood is that CAL management does NOT want the merger while the shareholders do (because they'll make a boatload of money). As long as CAL is 'outperforming' UAL they are able to hold off the shareholders, and there is no way in hell they will let Glen Tilton run the show.

 

[USC328]

I'm hearing that the gates at the west side of concourse B in DEN are becoming Continental gates. The middle of the B concourse is United and the East side is mostly SkyWest/United Express. (I say mostly because Mesa and Shuttle fly from there to.)

 

[mamba20]

I think a merger is FAR from a done deal. Delta still hasn't proven to be much of a threat, yet and this latest decision of JAL staying with AMR helps the cause of CAL staying independent. Tilton has done nothing but steer UAL toward chapter 7 and they are running out of cash very quickly. Of course he wants a merger. Hopefully it will not happen. Even if it does, I'm fine with it as long as UAL gets stapled.

 

[mamba20]

That will truly be something to see. SkyWests's CR7's, Shuttle America E70's & Mesa CR7's would be eliminated from uax instantly. And now I pose the $64,000 question, which name do you all think would be kept? In my opinion, I think the older name should be kept (whichever one that is). Anyone know which of those two airlines have the more senior name?

Which name do you want kept?
CO?
UA?

Unitental
or, as someone once stated, Continited?

Continental. The name United is tarnished beyond belief.

 

[BILL LUMBERG]

Even if it does, I'm fine with it as long as UAL gets stapled.

Another wannabe who just doesn't get the way the game is played....

 

[IAHERJ]

Let's just do this already! I'm sick of wondering when it will happen. Let's do the deal, merge the lists etc. so we can finally plan for our futures. I'm sick of wondering when I'll hold captain or 777 FO or whatever and always having to factor in a possible UAL merger and how that will slow things down. Let's just *&**ing merge and move on. Of course, that's just my humble opinion.

 

[General Lee]

I think a merger is FAR from a done deal. Delta still hasn't proven to be much of a threat, yet and this latest decision of JAL staying with AMR helps the cause of CAL staying independent. Tilton has done nothing but steer UAL toward chapter 7 and they are running out of cash very quickly. Of course he wants a merger. Hopefully it will not happen. Even if it does, I'm fine with it as long as UAL gets stapled.

The threat is what happens when Delta stops the losses due to hedging bets (on the way out of those now), and starts gaining profits due to all of those perceived "synergies". When those start kicking in, then a CAL/UAL merger will become more likely. Synergies due to combining reservation systems, putting right sized airplanes on routes, shrinking ground ops (rampers) due to less gates, less management needed (only one CEO and one CFO, etc), will all make a merger more attractive. Look for it soon I bet. And, I bet "relative" will be the term of the day with seniority lists.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[sleeves]

. Even if it does, I'm fine with it as long as UAL gets stapled.

Nobody is gona get stapled. Saying things like that are counter productive. UAL pilots and us have on enemy already. That enemy is MGT. They stay up at night thinking of ways to screw us, literally. If a merger does happen I hope we can all treat each other fairly, step back and stand in each others shoes and work together.

 

[Homer Jay]

Nobody is gona get stapled. Saying things like that are counter productive. UAL pilots and us have on enemy already. That enemy is MGT. They stay up at night thinking of ways to screw us, literally. If a merger does happen I hope we can all treat each other fairly, step back and stand in each others shoes and work together.

I'm in complete agreement with everything you said. While I do hope we remain independent, should they pull the trigger and merge us, we all need to unite and do this the right way, ala Delta/Northwest. And just think, this could be the final push to get the 83-85 hires out of here!