Who will be Southwest's merger partner?

[CitationUltra]

Biggest problem with Alaska is that they are profitable and most importantly not for sale. Most of the members of the board of directors are very successful in other jobs and love the idea of being on the board of a major airline. They don't need or want the buy out.

This is true, and I would add that over the years they have successfully spurned and thwarted every overture and move that would result in a buyout. There was serious talk of an AA buyout of AS during one of AAs abortive west coast impulses, and when the west coast-Tokyo routes were pending award. Even that, at a time when AMR was the cash king of the industry, never got past the preliminary stages.

 

[bravodude]

Fatespawn, I know about a dozen ATA Pilots that tried to ride on Southwest this weekend to attend the Jetblue seminar in Orlando, all denied cabin seats. Don't know if it was a gate agent thing or a new policy thing, either way there were a bunch of us that didn't make it. Guess I was naive to think that all those years bending over backwards to get you guys back and forth from work and to Hawaii would pay off. As far as the America West deal, it came after Airtran's offer. It was almost a done deal until SWA stepped in and screwed it up. Unfortunately none of the employee groups got a say in the matter.

Personally, I don't know how any of the ******************************bags in ATA or WN management can sleep at nite.


ESPRIT

You should get some facts before you make statements like that. Just today I found a memo at the gate that said all agents should do their best to accomodate all ATA employees. Granted by now that probably is over but we were told directly by mgt. to help evryone of the ATA.

 

[canyonblue]

Don't forget WN helped ATA's Pilots by in effect nixing the AWA merger that would have kept them all employed today.

ESPRIT

Not even close. AWA's offer was nowhere close to the bids offered by SWA and AirTran. SWA was the only offer that would leave ATA as ATA, maybe that was the problem.

 

[Lear70]

Not even close. AWA's offer was nowhere close to the bids offered by SWA and AirTran. SWA was the only offer that would leave ATA as ATA, maybe that was the problem.

Of course that was the problem.

ATA wasn't going to survive on its own. They *NEEDED* to merge with someone else.

Unfortunately, that merger with AWA or airTran would have kept their employees gainfully employed, the Southwest "asset purchase" obviously did not, and the company took the money option.

Wrong choice, obviously, as there were a couple payouts for senior management but, for the most part, it eliminated the ATA employee's jobs in short order.

Certainly not the fault of Southwest's pilots, but I believe SWA management knew EXACTLY what it was doing, what the long-term outcome would be, and simply did what was good for SWA employees and SWA shareholders, regardless of whether it would have caused ATA's demise or not.

It's business, just sucks for the employees.

p.s. I can see the same thing happening with Midwest. Purchased by Northwest to keep other airlines from getting a sudden foothold in their territory, hold it separately, then let it die on the vine.

Unfortunately, airTran is continuing their growth in MKE anyway (successfully I might add), the NWA/DAL deal will probably require them to divest some routes and gates, and they'll probably whittle it away until it's almost nothing, then shut it down, just like Champion.

The employees will lose in the end; given Northwest's and Delta's history, I doubt they'll incorporate the employee groups, just like SWA didn't.

 

[HalinTexas]

Slight correction: The Airtran "deal" in 2004 did NOT include employees or airplanes. FL wanted gates and slots at MDW, LGA, and DCA. Employees were going to be offered preferential interviews. That's it. The surviving part of ATA would have died off to just a charter company with a couple of hundred pilots. I would have lost my job by May of 2004. I was about half way up the list. Looking back now, I wish that would have happened. Just because it was easier to find jobs back then.

The AWA deal was to take the airline as a whole. This was a better deal than FL's. It failed not because the SWA deal was better, just the backing money mysteriously disappeared a day or two before the SWA "deal."

 

[Lear70]

I stand corrected then, as I was under the impression that the airTran "deal" included the employees with it.

Wasn't at airTran then, so evidently I wasn't paying as much attention as I thought. My mistake.

:beer:

 

[Max Powers]

I stand corrected then, as I was under the impression that the airTran "deal" included the employees with it.

Wasn't at airTran then, so evidently I wasn't paying as much attention as I thought. My mistake.

:beer:

But lear I thought you were omnipotent?

 

[Lear70]

But lear I thought you were omnipotent?

Powerful enough to smack you upside the head...

But I think you meant Omniscient, and don't I wish...

Winning lottery numbers and my own private plane to toy with back and forth to my own private island would be nice.

 

[Max Powers]

naw i meant what i said and I says what i mean.

 

[xjhawk]

I always thought SWA wanted a piece of the MSP market, now that NWA will be out of favor with the airport commision, maybe they can buy some gates in MSP. I sure hope so, it would open up some options for the public.