Could AA buy AS?

[robbedagain]

anything negative about DL just wont work for World Fraudster  bec in his eyes DL can do no wrong  (even if they cld he would never admit it) and no other air carrier can do no right...

 

[WorldTraveler]

Oh, so now you want the topic to be  B6 growth at AA expense?  What happened to DL crushes all LCCs?  Why don't you want to discuss that falsehood any longer?  Could it be because you can't fabricate any data to support your made-up claims (i.e. lies), World Fraudster?

no, you and others are the ones that wanted to throw FL and B6 into the conversation in a fleeting attempt at trying to find something that DL did wrong.

quite simply, DL has done a better job of protecting and building its hubs.

AA defined its cornerstone strategy to involve its hubs and yet in all several of them, excepting DFW and MIA, AA was not the top airline.

and those two hubs are EXACTLY where competition is growing in the US airline industry.

and even for the combined DAL/DFW market based even on DOT data before the WA restrictions fell, AA did not carry the majority of domestic local traffic.

and the real issue that you and others want to hold onto is that AA will somehow find a savior on the west coast that will allow it to regain its position of leadership that it gave up. and there is simply no savior that can give AA a competitive position in the west coast to Asia market.

DL and UA laid out their strategies on the west coast - UA got a head start to Asia and built on its historic strength in SFO but DL has built a hub at SEA that along with DTW serves the entire US to the largest markets in Asia. AA has done that at DFW but they will not be able to achieve that goal on the west coast without having another carrier operating one for one on every route AA tries to operate from LAX to Asia.

AS can't help AA where it most needs west coast help.

and the DOJ wouldn't permit a merger between AS any of the big 4 without substantial asset divestitures which likely would make the deal not worth it - on top of the difference in costs between AA and AS that would require significant downsizing of AS's oeprations.

AA's own history in other parts of the country and the current strategic position it is in at LAX and to Asia are all part of the same package.

AA snoozed in NYC, DL and UA built comparably sized operations and AA is relegated to a much lower position.

the same thing will happen in LAX because AA waited to long to focus on its network in the interest of protecting shareholder interests and then could only merge with an airline that did nothing to help AA where it most needed help in Asia.

 

[700UW]

How did that work out for DFW? CVG? MEM? MCO?

 

[WorldTraveler]

you do realize that DFW is considerably smaller of a market than NYC, don't you?

you won't accept that DL took its toys from DFW and played in the big market of NYC and in the process pushed AA out of the number one position at both LGA and JFK.


and DL is still the largest network carrier at every one of those markets you list in terms of local market passengers and revenue.

you can't begin to say that about BWI, BNA, STL, SJC.....

 

[Kev3188]

TL/DR:

Could AA buy AS? Maybe, but not easily.

Should they buy AS? Nope.

 

[LD3]

Thank you Kev..... Maybe if everyone quits responding to dingbat he may STFU......

 

[WorldTraveler]

there you go... you aren't smart enough to know that if you had just left Kev's summary alone without attempting to trash someone, I would have left Kev's statement stand.

so because of your stupidity, I will note that AA's capacity from the west coast to Asia will be 1/7th that of UA and a bit over 1/6th of DL's

And UA is the number one carrier across the Pacific from the west coast and DL is #2.

and in EVERY market region from the west coast - Europe/TATL, Latin America, N. America, and Asia/TPAC, AA is below DL and/or UA in terms of seats offered this summer even after including US' seats.

so, Kev is right in the statements he made but the greatest response is that an AA/AS merger would do nothing more strategically for AA than what US did - create more domestic bulk which other carriers quickly turned around and surpassed.

the fundamentals of an AA/AS merger make no more sense than the AA/US merger did in terms of addressing AA's position in the US int'l marketplace relative to DL and UA.

now don't you wish we had just left Kev's statement stand and you had stayed on the sideline with your snarky comment?

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

there you go... you aren't smart enough to know ............................................

 
Who was it that was whining about personal insults and blabbing about grasping the issues and mental horsepower?

 

[LD3]

now don't you wish we had just left Kev's statement stand and you had stayed on the sideline with your snarky comment?

um.. no

 

[WorldTraveler]

and then I can pull out all kinds of statistics that you don't want to see but which show the true situation in which AA is strategically.

They blew it strategically regards to Asia... they missed buying both PA and NW's Pacific operations or the entire airlines.

and now AA is behind DL and UA on the west coast as a whole and is staking its hopes on LAX where Europe is the only region where AA on its own metal carries more LOCAL LAX passengers than DL or UA...

and of course it isn't just the big 3 on the west coast.

so, regardless of whether I use the words "mental horsepower" or something else, those who want to not have to hear the grim reality of where AA is on the west coast - to go along with what it did to itself in NYC - those are facts and attempting to shoot the messenger won't change them.

 

[wings396]

I find it amusing that you go so far out of your way to point out any deficiencies that AA may have at this point. You fail to realize that the merger isn't even complete yet, and AA continues to show a strong profit. If you were even half as smart as you claim to be, I'm sure that you realize that AA will only improve once they can capitalize on the full benefits of the merger. Keep trying though, you are only confirming what most people on here think of you already.

 

[WorldTraveler]

what you and others don't seem to realize is that DL and UA are also strongly profitable.

AA is not going to succeed at being a viable competitor anywhere close to on par with DL and UA from the west coast to Asia because DL and UA are also profitable and they are willing to and can make any route that AA wants to fly to Asia work and likely make more money doing so.

I don't really care what people here think of me... what I do care is to talk about the reality of the industry.

All of the "AA needs a west coast to Asia gateway" talk isn't going to change anything that AA blew it strategically in missing an opportunity to buy its way into Asia and all of the profits AA can come up with aren't going to change the fact that unless both DL and UA quit being profitable and AA still is, then that is when AA MIGHT get the chance to built out its LAX to Asia presence.

but the chances that DL and UA will both quit being profitable while AA remains so long enough that the industry dynamics are rearranged is highly unlikely.

all of the talk of what AA will do in LAX or what an AA/AS merger could do is just deflection from the reality that AA will not have a viable presence from the west coast to Asia compared to DL and UA.

 

[robbedagain]

Kev  I agree with you   AA    as well as DL should not buy AS   

 

[JFK Fleet Service]

I applaud you sir.

Not everyone has the dedication,the desire,the perseverance, the slavish dedication to tirelessly point out here on the internet the litany of competitive missteps taken by a competitor of a company you retired from as much as a decade ago.

Kudos for putting aside the benefits of ones retirement to chastise both employee and "Fanboys" of said competitor tirelessly on the internet and without regard for the slings and arrows one must doubtlessly endure trying to educate the rabble.

Truly the internet hath blessed us with the likes of you.

 

[WorldTraveler]

oh, technology makes it very easy to do what needs to be done.

and it needs to be done.

so can we close this thread since no one realistically believes there is any reason for AA to buy AS?

and can do away with these endless "AA will be the world's biggest airline even though it is just a big domestic airline which isn't the largest int'l airline in any of the top 3 US markets?"

kthx.