FmrFreightDog
Py-lote
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2003
- Posts
- 1,238
Someone refresh my memory, but how did UAL buy Pan Am's Asian rights? Was that transfer difficult? What's the perceived difference in this case? What about Air Canada buying Canadian Airlines' Asian routes? Serious question.
I could be completely wrong here and don't really want to spend the time it takes to investigate it, but.... I believe that Japan is not obligated to allow the 5th freedom rights to transfer. In the case of United/Pan Am, the routes were allowed to be sold. However, I think Fedex bought Flying Tigers mainly to take advantage of that carriers' 5th freedom rights and the rights did not transfer with the sale.
Like I said, I could be totally wrong, but I think I read that somewhere. In this case I guess it would come down to whether it's easier to let NWA be the buyer or to grease whatever palms need to be greased in order to allow the rights to transfer to Delta.
Either way, I don't see why anyone cares. Since neither carrier is on "death's door" who the buyer is and who the buyee is will make absolutely no difference when it comes to pilots and seniority lists. The name the merged carrier chooses to operate under will not carry any weight with an arbitrator if it comes down to that. I would be far more worried about a possible furlough/stagnation/base closure that what the name of the company I work for is going to be.