And so it begins..

[USstew23]

If you don't know what I'm talking about, just come to our Inflight check in room at 830am where the atmosphere is like a party with almost 100 Flight Attendants laughing, catching up with each other and you know almost everyone by name. You probably don't know what I am talking about as I don't think this would ever happen in Philadelphia. This is why I am proud to say that I worked for America West.

Actually, Philly as a base is a really great group of people who like to have fun and carry on. Before all of the shuffling around and the displacements it was even better and I have to admit growing up in my twenties in that base those people are the ones who taught me how to party. I know that so many get on here and piss and moan and if you're on the outside looking in you have to be thinking--- what a worn out bitter bunch of people!!! Honestly it's not like that and I would trust any one of my coworkers on any given day to have my back if such a situation ever presented itself.

 

[USstew23]

The problem is not AWA, but rather a disconnect between expectations and reality in the East. Nothing personal...

I think the disconnect is that you and this management do not reside in reality. People simply aren't going to settle for lies and excuses when it comes to greed, arrogance, and incompotence.

 

[Kev3188]

Air France-KLM merged but still operate as two seperate brands (and I believe certificates etc). I wonder if any of these mergers would look similar.

I sure hope so....

 

[WCT]

An Alaska, American merger? US, Airtran, Spirit and Frontier combined? Hey throw in Midwest too! WHO KNOWS? AA might be dead set to merge with US???!! DP and AA? Interesting, since he was an intern there, and has major ties to Dallas.

 

[Singleflyer]

Now that CNN is reporting that it is DL & NW talking. Where does that leave US? UA & CO ??

US & BKIII?

 

[US1YFARE]

An Alaska, American merger? US, Airtran, Spirit and Frontier combined? Hey throw in Midwest too! WHO KNOWS? AA might be dead set to merge with US???!! DP and AA? Interesting, since he was an intern there, and has major ties to Dallas.

I like an AA/US combo. And it would be guaranteed that the bozos in Tempe would be gone...I can dream can't I?

 

[WCT]

I like an AA/US combo. And it would be guaranteed that the bozos in Tempe would be gone...I can dream can't I?

AMEN!

 

[PA18]

Weren't Empire folks brought from the bottom and given their seniority that Piedmont took away when Piedmont was aquired by US?

All of the former Empire employees except the pilots have their original seniority. They remain stapled below all of the former Piedmont pilots.

The former Trump/US Shuttle flight attendants also bid with their original Eastern DOH. The Shuttle pilots were slotted in a weighted formula, with all of the flight engineers put at the bottom of the US list, from where many were furloughed after 9/11.

And the East pilots wonder how they ended up with the Nicolau award.

 

[RowUnderDCA]

I like an AA/US combo. And it would be guaranteed that the bozos in Tempe would be gone...I can dream can't I?

I don't think that some kind of combo of AA/US is impossible. Certainly, US joining oneworld and code-sharing is doable. It's been done in the past. A full-blown merger, eh, maybe, but why would AA do that? Dumping PHL and becoming AA's airbus division might be feasible, but at that point I wonder if US would just really become an unaligned independent 'Spirit Air on steroids.'

 

[gaucho99]

Northwest confirms they will look for another merger partner if UA-DL hook up.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/16/news/compa...rce=yahoo_quote

 

[back2CLT]

I still can't fathom why US tried to take-over Delta last year instead of NW. They could have pulled it off at the time, and NW would have resisted less. There would have been less government protest as well....now a year later, NW is out of C11 and they could probably buy US...if they wanted them.

It makes no sense to me....US/NW have the most compatible fleet, complimentary routes, and NW was in bankrupcy for God's sake....what didn't seem obvious?

Instead, all we kept hearing Doug say was "synergies", which meant, eliminating competition, instead of building a viable airline that could compete with the big-boys.

 

[USstew23]

I like an AA/US combo. And it would be guaranteed that the bozos in Tempe would be gone...I can dream can't I?

Yeah and it would create such havoc with labor that you'd end up with 2 less airlines instead of one. I could never imagine a full blown merger between US and AA (of course as I've said things are probably going to happen that none of us could imagine) maybe AA getting the Shuttle and maybe some of the West coast operation but they have their codeshare with AS for the latter and have already managed to dismantle the former Air Cal and Reno operation into DFW and ORD. Whoo I just wish that they'd all get on with it already.

 

[beachboy]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A year ago, US Airways was the belle of the consolidation ball. Now, it just wants an invitation to the party.
http://www.thestreet.com/s/us-airways-on-t...ml?puc=googlefi

 

[EMBFA]

US Airways on the Outside Looking In


By Ted Reed
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
1/16/2008 2:16 PM EST


CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A year ago, US Airways (LCC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) was the belle of the consolidation ball. Now, it just wants an invitation to the party.

Between Nov. 15, 2006, when it disclosed a hostile bid for Delta (DAL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), and Jan. 31, 2007, when the attempt was dropped, US Airways was the talk of the airline industry, and CEO Doug Parker was the group's audacious new face.

After engineering a successful merger between the former US Airways and America West, he went for broke, seeking to build the world's biggest airline.

It all came crashing down relatively quickly. There was the Senate subcommittee hearing in late January, where Parker was forced to defend layoffs of middle-aged workers after TWA was acquired by AMR (AMR - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating), and there was the precipitous decline of US Airways' stock.

There was also a questionable arbitrator's ruling on pilot seniority, begetting a continuing, bitter battle among the airline's current pilots.

Now, at a time when international expansion is the industry's hottest trend, US Airways has only about one-fifth of its capacity in international markets, compared with one-third to one-half at the other legacy carriers.

So US Airways watches and waits as Delta takes the lead, reportedly pursuing merger talks with both Northwest (NWA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and UAL's (UAUA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) United.

"It's not as if we can force this to happen at this point," Parker told an investor conference in November. "Being the sixth of the big six, we're not going to be somebody's first choice," he said. However, he added, "It's hard to marginalize $11 billion in revenue."

If consolidation is to occur, the general expectation is that Delta will seek to make a deal and that other potential mergers will surface in response. At that point, any or all of the six legacy carriers, including Continental (CAL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating), could be involved.

"US Airways is probably at some risk of being marginalized," says Standard & Poor's analyst Philip Baggaley. "If Delta were to go to one [partner] and Continental went to the other, American would be left apart, but at least they would have started out as the largest airline.

"Then you would have US Airways, who wanted to be involved, left on the sidelines," he says.

But Avondale Partners analyst Bob McAdoo says that even though it isn't anybody's initial option, US Airways remains a strong merger candidate. It's always good to have slots and gates at congested airports in desirable markets like Boston, New York and Washington, he says.

Additionally, in Charlotte, US Airways has the only major Southeastern hub aside from Atlanta. "There's more to the world than international routes," he says.

McAdoo says he expects American to be actively involved in consolidation, even though it has said little to encourage that impression over the last several years. American could bid for Northwest, he says. If that fails, US Airways might be a good second choice, especially if long-time competitor United were to gain a New York presence in a deal with Continental.

Perhaps US Airways would try to combine with United, seeking to revive the failed merger the two attempted in 2000. Consultant Robert Mann says the deal has the advantage of combining two Star Alliance partners, but "it would mean US Airways would compete with a Continental deal, which is hard to imagine."

US Airways could also join the crowd and seek to acquire Northwest. But Mann says US Airways no longer "has the market capitalization, and may not have the private-equity support, to enable another run" similar to Delta's.

 

[N903AW]

"Will somebody please dance with US??" :wacko:

We'll even throw in the can of Dougweiser!