What will AirTran's response be?

[Eagle757shark]

NW has always been brutal about protecting their turf. Remember they were the spoiler for a CAL/DAL merger a few years back. They still hold the golden share for CAL, and now have an anti-merger poison pill in their stock offering, while DAL gave up their poison pill. NW management may be ruthless with their employees, but they are even more so with competitors and vendors.

Not sure where this is going, but I guarantee it's not fluff. If NW can spoil the MEH deal it protects it's turf AND puts a big crimp into AT's expansion plans. What will AT do with all those acft on order if they don't have a place to put them?

This will get really interesting in the next month. While all the talk has been of big mergers, it could in fact be with the consolidation of various smaller LCC into legacy carriers for incremental expansion vs. the mega-merger...

Very well put!

 

[c9skytrain]

If airtran gets yx airplanes and has more on order, where are the furloughs, sounds like propoganda too me sen. mccarthy

Can we get a cogent translation of the above setence please, Mr. Moustache?

 

[gt1900]

Ummm... AAI will probably put them in one of the 15 gates IND has offered them... AAI will have no problem placing thier 737's in markets.. Thats why they are talking with Boeing for more 737's....

 

[Fly4hire]

Ummm... AAI will probably put them in one of the 15 gates IND has offered them... AAI will have no problem placing thier 737's in markets.. Thats why they are talking with Boeing for more 737's....

And NWA is the single largest carrier out of IND right now. I don't think the plan is to roll over and play dead for AAI. I heard they are getting a major gate presence at the new terminal as well and were going to fly international out of there.

 

[gt1900]

Either way... Major hubs for NWA at MSP, DTW, and either MKE or IND do not make good business sense... They can't make another hub at MKE and IND... NWA is gonna have to give somewhere, either way, AAI stands to do very well in MKE or IND.... You will not see NWA with major hubs at MSP, MKE, IND and DTW.... You could however see AAI with an ATL hub and a MKE or IND hub..... NWA will lose this battle....

 

[Fly4hire]

will not see NWA with major hubs at MSP, MKE, IND and DTW.... You could however see AAI with an ATL hub and a MKE or IND hub..... NWA will lose this battle....

I don't think it's NWA's strategy to have a hub at all of the aforementioned. All they have to do is to have enough presence to keep AAI from having them.......

 

[gt1900]

Common..... your telling me that NWA is gonna have enough of a presence at MKE and IND to keep AAI from having a major hub at either?? There is no way in hell NWA can keep AAI from having a major hub at MKE or IND... NWA may be able to protect 1, but not both..... You can't honestly believe that NWA is gonna keep AAI out of MKE and IND do you?? ........... Trust me "enough of a presence" aint gonna work to keep AAI out of MKE or IND.. The only way NWA is gonna keep AAI out of both is if NWA gets all the gates at both airports and keeps AAI out that way.. This aint AA vs. AAI in DFW.. That was a war that AAI couldn't win.. However, AAI could very easily hand NWA their @sses at MKE and IND... NWA doesn't have the pricing power or the presence at either to keep AAI out....

 

[SkiFishFly]

I don't think it's NWA's strategy to have a hub at all of the aforementioned. All they have to do is to have enough presence to keep AAI from having them.......

No. NWA needs to focus on making a profit. Chasing AAI will not work for them.