Could US Airways be the partner United is seeking?

[PHXLOST]

United Airlines wants to merge with an airline that has a strong Northeast presence and a Southern hub with a good Caribbean and Latin America network.

Possibilities include:

US Airways, which has its largest hub at Charlotte/Douglas and flies to 26 Caribbean cities and five in Latin America

Delta Airlines, which is based in Atlanta and flies to 15 Caribbean cities and 48 Latin American destinations

Continental Airlines, which is based in Houston and flies to 27 Caribbean cities and 50 in Latin America

Does anyone find these numbers kinda "funny"
Delta has 48 Latin American destinationsand,
and US has 5?..

 

[gaucho99]

Does anyone find these numbers kinda "funny"
Delta has 48 Latin American destinationsand,
and US has 5?..

I guess Mexico is not included in Latin America?

 

[FutureUScapt]

Does anyone find these numbers kinda "funny"
Delta has 48 Latin American destinationsand,
and US has 5?..

They must just be counting the destinations served from CLT. My guess would be that CUN and CZM are counted under Caribbean while MEX, BZE, GUA, SJO, and LIR are counted under Latin America.

DLs numbers are very misleading as I don't think they come close to having 48 destinations in Mexico and Central and South America. Plus, over half of their destinations in Mexico are only served by RJs to LAX, so in reality the number of destinations from ATL (which is what they should be looking at) is quite less, though still larger than CLT by any means.

 

[gso-crew]

Is it in any ones best interest to hook up with United?


United Just Can't Get Off the Ground
TheStreet.com

The second biggest airline is by far the most puzzling.
Alone among the 10 largest carriers, United (UAUA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) has neither placed a major aircraft order recently nor expressed any interest in doing so. Instead, it seems singularly focused on finding a merger partner. The search has led nowhere -- not surprisingly, given that airline mergers rarely succeed.

Meanwhile, United's financial performance has been, to quote Winston Churchill, "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma." Since it emerged from bankruptcy in February 2006, United has ridden a financial roller coaster. Its fortunes decline one minute, as they did in the first quarter, than rise the next, as they did last week.

Although it operates an imposing global route system at a time when international routes far outperform domestic ones, United sometimes appears to be floundering. "No analyst out there can figure out why they are not doing a better job," said aviation consultant Robert Mann. "This ought to be a gold mine."

Instead, United is viewed as having failed to get all it needed from a bankruptcy that consumed three years. By contrast, Delta (DAL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) spent 20 months in bankruptcy, yet remade itself. And United is often compared to American (AMR - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating), which has similar costs despite not entering bankruptcy at all.

United CEO Glenn Tilton came to the airline business with an outsider's perspective. Before joining United in 2002, he spent 32 years at Texaco, overseeing a 2001 merger with Chevron. Now, after less than four years in an insular industry staffed largely by lifers who are in love with it, he sometimes seems to tell airlines what to do.

MORE

 

[AstroLounge]

US carries many United codeshare pax and vice versa. With the Star Alliance celebrating 10 years and continuing to GROW worldwide, the route systems STILL compliment each other. For years the industry was always a battle of who was Bigger/Better....UA or AA. Outside of the USA, pax usually think UA and AA are the premier carriers in this country and always will- has to do with size, service, network and enormous fleets. Delta plays second fiddle (always will) yet Continental is Probably the Best of them All.

 

[zethya]

Well US stock is up 10+% in the last 3 days and was upgraded today. This pattern MAY signal that someone (UA, US, etc..) has been detected negotiating for financial support to merge as the acquirer. Typically either the buyer or seller's stock rises before anything formal is announced and MAY continue to do so for a short time thereafter, especially when a transfer of shares is part of the deal. Both UA and NW are possibilities. NW has the best aircraft fit and would be especially consistent with US's recent Airbus orders and also has ready made Asia access. However, labor issues may be insurmountable. UA would potentially eliminate existing US Hubs, except for CLT, but may be too big of a "fish" for Parker to fry - if US is the acquirer. Of course this stock rise could be nothing more than a short term ploy by brokerages to fatten their wallets.

 

[donttouchthebeauty]

Just my honest opinion, but US has the worst labor trouble in the industry right now - While UAL, AMR, NWA employees aren't smiling ear to ear... The problems at US, isn't anything a CEO anywhere wants to touch - That doesn't even touch on the subject of the operation itself and the disgruntled passengers.. I don't believe US really has what UAL wants... They don't have a lucrative SE hub, clt isn't it LGW and FRA is something that UAL has plenty of and CLT doesn't offer Asia or S.A... Time will tell and we can always expect the unexpected in this industry.

 

[phlus2]

Could US Airways be the partner United is seeking?
Some say deal is possible, but Delta or Continental may be better candidates

For a minute today - I thought maybe the merger had already happened. Imagine my surprise this morning on United flight 1224 from ORD to PHL when my drink in first class was served in a glass with the USAirways flag logo on it.

I guess since they aren't using the glassware on US flights they gave to an airline that still has real first class service.

The flight attendant just laughed and said the other day they had the USAir party cups on a flight too!

 

[gizmo_sc]

FROM DELTA's WEBSITE

Expand your horizons. There's a whole lot of world out there.
Africa:

* Accra
* Johannesburg

Asia:

* Mumbai (Bombay)
* Seoul

Caribbean, Bahamas, & Bermuda:

* Antigua
* Barbados
* Bermuda
* Kingston
* Santo Domingo

Europe:

* Amsterdam
* Berlin
* Brussels
* Bucharest
* Budapest
* Copenhagen
* Dusseldorf
* Edinburgh
* Frankfurt
* Kiev
* London
* Manchester
* Milan
* Nice
* Pisa
* Prague
* Shannon
* Venice
* Zurich

Mexico & Central America:

* Acapulco
* Belize City
* Managua
* San Jose
* San Pedro Sula
* San Salvador

Middle East:

* Dubai
* Istanbul
* Tel Aviv

United States & Canada:

* Atlanta
* Boston
* Los Angeles
* Miami
* New York City
* San Diego
* San Francisco
* San Juan, PR
* Seattle
* Washington, D.C.

South America:

* Buenos Aires
* Guayaquil
* Sao Paulo
* Quito

I DONT SEE 48 LATIN AMERICAN DESTINATIONS

 

[AstroLounge]

For a minute today - I thought maybe the merger had already happened. Imagine my surprise this morning on United flight 1224 from ORD to PHL when my drink in first class was served in a glass with the USAirways flag logo on it.

I guess since they aren't using the glassware on US flights they gave to an airline that still has real first class service.

The flight attendant just laughed and said the other day they had the USAir party cups on a flight too!

Too damn funny........I suppose the next place we will see the glassware (other than the East operated flights) will be at a local Soup Kitchen. Nothing like Upgrading a Bum!