USA320Pilot
Veteran
- May 18, 2003
- 8,175
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American-US Air Merger Would Bolster The Industry
- Thread starter USA320Pilot
- Start date
AA would have gone this route along time ago.... It's not in the plan. Maybe JetBlue but not US.
WorldTraveler
Corn Field
- Dec 5, 2003
- 21,709
- 10,662
- Banned
- #4
until AA's costs are in the same ballpark as other carriers, there is no merger that could work.
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If AA's costs were low enough to make a merger work, they could begin the process of regaining marketshare on their own.
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Until then, any merger becomes nothing more than an asset transfer that will result in the loss of a whole lot of service that isn't sustainable at AA's cost structure.
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The fascination by some US folks with acquiring AA is not much different than they had when US tried to acquire DL - an attempt to undo the structural disadvantage that US has which results in a lot less long term stability for US employees.
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If AA reaches the point it can't turn things around, then US might get a shot... but it does appear that AA is making some small progress. Whether it will be enough to allow them to effectively compete against other carriers of all types remains to be seen... but AA is not anywhere close to the point where a takeover is likely.
.
If AA's costs were low enough to make a merger work, they could begin the process of regaining marketshare on their own.
.
Until then, any merger becomes nothing more than an asset transfer that will result in the loss of a whole lot of service that isn't sustainable at AA's cost structure.
.
The fascination by some US folks with acquiring AA is not much different than they had when US tried to acquire DL - an attempt to undo the structural disadvantage that US has which results in a lot less long term stability for US employees.
.
If AA reaches the point it can't turn things around, then US might get a shot... but it does appear that AA is making some small progress. Whether it will be enough to allow them to effectively compete against other carriers of all types remains to be seen... but AA is not anywhere close to the point where a takeover is likely.
I agree it does seem that the people at US have a fascination to merge with whomever.
Every day it's a different rumor at US about mergers.
I could be wrong but I do not see a AA/US merger in the near future.
By near future I mean whithin a year. Anything beyond that is too far
in the future to predict.
I know one thing for sure a merger between this two companies
would be a mess. 99.999999% of everyone I have ever spoken
to @ AA about merging with US are totally against it.
A merger of the two might look ok in paper but making it work
would be a disaster.
johnny kat
Senior
- Oct 11, 2011
- 343
- 330
The analyst makes a good point about the new taxes forcing airlines to merge. USAirways should keep to itself and stay away from the trainwreck at AA. A better course would be to wait until other opportunities arise. Just because AA may look appealing it would be a mistake to put these two together. Why would US need to take on the burdens of the beast, unless it comes down to CEO egos. As it looks now even if everything lines up for AA they will be a loser. Third place is no where to be competitively.
If ever there is to be less competition it will most likely be through asset sales and swaps. The recent US/DL slot swap seems like a better way to go about it than a full on merger with groups of employees that want nothing to do with each other.
robbedagain
Veteran
- Oct 13, 2003
- 11,125
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personelly I dont want a merger with AA heck these clowns at Tempe still cant get the firs one completed i also believe it would be a disaster however I also believe that if AA cant get its stuff in order the nightmare scenario is that AA goes CH11 the employees suffer far worse than what we did and still do and US goes for the merger/acquiring I hope it doesnt occur but Im looking at the fact that AA has not made profits for yrs now while the other carriers includ US has made profits..albeit off the backs of the employees
whatkindoffreshhell
Veteran
Hey 320, is this the UCT (Unique Corporate Transaction) that you've been touting for a decade?
Do it! C'mon Parker! Especially since you still haven't merged the pilots from the last merger years ago. This would be fun.
Vaughn Cordle likes to hear himself blog. Yeah, like taking capacity out of domestic hubs is the sure ticket to profitability in the airline business these days.
JFK Fleet Service
Veteran
I think US leaving Star for OneWorld and participating in the JV's (If feasible) would probably be more beneficial as well as being less disruptive to all involved employee groups.
That being said if something does take place we're all along for the ride and having seizures about it on an internet forum won't do thing one to stop it.
That being said if something does take place we're all along for the ride and having seizures about it on an internet forum won't do thing one to stop it.
Well, there is only one CEO who is trying to pump up his ego @ the expense of others....My concern would be if there was a merger and the Tempe boys were in charge, would they be capable of running an international operation that is much larger than what they run now?
You may be right but Star hasn't admitted US into its immunized joint ventures - it's the only US legacy that is forced to compete with its own alliance partners across the Atlantic. Something tells me there's a good reason US hasn't been invited to the Star reindeer games. Wonder if Oneworld would treat US better?
WorldTraveler
Corn Field
- Dec 5, 2003
- 21,709
- 10,662
- Banned
- #12
I wouldn't read any more into it than that UA could see that CO was a likely future merger partner and they couldn't afford to slow the process of integrating a more valuable CO because of overlap between CO and US.
Quality could be raised as an issue but the bigger issue is market overlap.
BTW, US is in Star precisely because it provides connections that no one else in Star can provide, esp. to/from the SE where Star needs US to compete w/ DL.
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US' best performing routes from a revenue perspective are to/from Star hubs, esp. in Germany.
US Airways largely rules out further industry consolidation
Posted on 4th November, 2011 5:21 PM
Just as fervor increases on calls for American Airlines and US Airways to merge, US Airways CEO Doug Parker announced at the carrier's quarterly results that consolidation opportunities had passed. His comments suggest he sees American Airlines and US Airways, the last two US legacy carriers not to engage in industry consolidation, remaining independent and on their own to battle their larger competitors.
All the changes that created the step change in the airline business in the last several years have created profitability even at high fuel prices and have all been accomplished, Mr Park said, adding that even consolidation is done.
“I’ve long been a proponent of consolidation but it has now largely happened,” he said. “We are down to four major, hub-and-spoke airlines and a few national low-cost carriers and Alaska which doesn’t fit either category. We have a much different industry today. When we started talking about it, one of the most important reasons for doing it it was to get the industry well. Now, the big strategic reason for consolidation doesn’t exist any more. It’s already happened.”
It was ironic Mr Parker made that statement just as a US Airways-American merger is being bandied about, albeit after American goes through bankruptcy. He did not address that and perhaps his comments reflected that he is not interested in such a union. But, having prompted the United-Continental and the Delta-Northwest mergers, that is highly doubtful, since he has previously said US Airways would likely participate in the next round of consolidation.
787nightmare
Veteran
- Aug 28, 2010
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