Is USAirways hostile takeover Of AA for Real?

[700UW]

No they dont have one yet and that is why they asked the court to extend the exclusivity period.

 

[wings396]

I have often wondered if they ever really had a solid plan to begin with. Perhaps they thought that they could slap something together, but that all changed when US came into the picture. At this point they are buying extra time in an attempt to come up with a plan that they can put against Parkers.....

 

[WorldTraveler]

changes to a POR are quite common in BK. It is precisely because a company has to adapt to the changes in the industry that they are given the opportunity to continue to refine their plan.
Maintaining exclusivity has nothing to do with whether a company has a viable POR or not... in fact, support by the creditors to an extension would likely NOT happen if there wasn't a viable POR.

 

[wings396]

At this point how would anyone outside of top management at AA even know what the POR is?
Obviously it hasn't been presented to the creditors yet..

 

[jimntx]

No they dont have one yet and that is why they asked the court to extend the exclusivity period.

Oh, they have one. You just have to read between the lines of the LBFOs to the 3 major unions. Our POR is "Let's take a bunch more from the employees and then this stupid Cornerstone Strategy (that has been wildly unsuccessful in its first 3 years of life) will work. We thought of it so it must be perfect. The only problem is we pay the employees too much." Yeah, that's the ticket! Bonusses all around for figuring this out.

 

[signals]

then AAs POR is on schedule

UNCLE!

Things are worse than I thought for AA...
American Airlines will disappear in 2013 because of its inefficiency. It was the premier carrier in the United States for almost 30 years — even surviving through periods when most other carriers went bankrupt. However, it lost its critical advantage of scale when Northwest merged with Delta (NYSE: DAL) and Continental merged with United (NYSE: UAL). Within two years, American became a medium-sized carrier.

Read more:
http://247wallst.com/2012/06/21/247-wall-st-10-brands-that-will-disappear-in-2013/4/

So maybe an US merger is likely.

 

[700UW]

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/avd_08_06_2012_p04-01-483179.xml

AS says no.

 

[IORFA]

Of course, this is all Horton's pipe dream. Same with JetBlue. AA would turn both into disasters of their current networks. AA would dismantle their networks fairly fast. We can't compete with our costs, bankruptcy or not. Sounds great, until reality hits.

 

[PITbull]

Hey kat,

As much as we spend wiriting on her; you spend reading...so you obviously just aren't that busy!!!!

I spent 25 years lving out of hotel rooms. I know all about what the jobs about. That's why I'm on here. The labor groups should recieve their just rewards for a decade of consessions and consolidations, lowest wages in the industry. NO additional mergers should take place until and unless the labor groups ratifiy a contract they will live with for the next decade...and it an't no AA concessionary agreement that's for certain!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PITbull,

I have set on the jumpseat with you and worked along side you. I was proud of you and the way you stood up when things were sooo bad. I totally agree with you about a contract for us first. But, having been flying now for 30 years and many more to go because of the lack of retirement, you must understand that in order to get unstuck from this wretched BK contract we must vote yes on something. I know, I know it can't just be any old contract but lets face it we all suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome. That being said something clearly has to change. A contract must be ratified before merger or else we are kicked in the teeth once again.

This merger clearly is the best way forward for someone in my situation, which is to say, most of the employees at US who have too many years on the jumpseat and still have too many years before the rocking chair. In my view managment at US and AFA leadership are both to blame if we don't get a contract and soon. The word immoral comes to mind. And I bet most of the beaten down employees at AA feel the same. Heaven help us all.

I wholeheartedly agree with you that many employees do have the stockholm, no doubt. And you need a contract.

What I really want, and why I am posting as much as I am of late in the first place, is to see US Airways provide a TA that rewards its employees FIRST, and after that....I would welcome any kind of merger that would allow US Airways and its employees to better compete and remain viable for many many years to come.

I support U labor in NOT getting on the band wagon with management in support of a merger WHILE AA is in BK. Any type of negotiations by US Airways management leap-frogging over AA management, and going directly to the AA labor will only be bad news for US Airways employees, and counter productive to the employees/ and AA in their negotiations. In addition, its just plain unethical for a management in a reputable corporation to behave in such a manner. It reflects so poorly on US Airways in the public's eye.

AA employees have frozen pension plans. If you just take the AA f/as, there are 17,000 which means that these pensions still need funded by the airline. If AA employees are able to keep their frozen pension plans; and US Airways promises them this; they will be funded by the cost savings from the concessionary contracts of US Airways labor to provide for these pension plans. There also maybe many job losses from a consolidation, which history does show.

Allow AA to finish their bankruptcy process, and negotiate with their employees. AA has that exclusivity, albeit has been extended again, they should have their due process.

I do know that consolidation will lead to much less competition,higher fares; and this is not good for the flying public.
On the otherside of all of this; the gates will reoopen for reregulation. No doubt.

But, that is for another discussion.

 

[wings396]

PITbull,
I must ask why you continue to stress the higher fare issue when we have agreed that fares have been too cheap for too long?
In a previous post we agreed that Airline labor has been subsidizing low fares for many years now, and that needs to end. I was around in the days of PE, and dealt with customers paying $23 fares. I don't think that expecting the flying public to pay a fair market value price for an airline ticket is asking too much. I have stated many times that I would like to be able to buy a new car today for what one cost back in 1980, but that will never happen. The flying public has gotten a long ride of 20+ years of cheap air travel, and it needs to end.

 

[WorldTraveler]

I agree, wings.

Pit,
Because the industry consolidates and fares perhaps finally are able to cover costs does not at all mean that re-regulation is around the corner. There are alot of other companies that have consolidated and profitable - and Washington has not re-regulated them.
The US airline industry is already one of the most heavily taxed industries in the US. Higher fares and a consolidating industry are good for the government who may not see tax revenues go down but will see fewer flights which will result in fewer demands on ATC and airport infrastructure.

 

[Pi brat]

UNCLE!

Things are worse than I thought for AA...
American Airlines will disappear in 2013 because of its inefficiency. It was the premier carrier in the United States for almost 30 years — even surviving through periods when most other carriers went bankrupt. However, it lost its critical advantage of scale when Northwest merged with Delta (NYSE: DAL) and Continental merged with United (NYSE: UAL). Within two years, American became a medium-sized carrier.

Read more:
http://247wallst.com...pear-in-2013/4/

So maybe an US merger is likely.

That article is kind of misnamed. AA won't disappear. Even if it merges with US it will be the same name and the bulk of the new company, just new management and bigger.

 

[PITbull]

PITbull,
I must ask why you continue to stress the higher fare issue when we have agreed that fares have been too cheap for too long?
In a previous post we agreed that Airline labor has been subsidizing low fares for many years now, and that needs to end. I was around in the days of PE, and dealt with customers paying $23 fares. I don't think that expecting the flying public to pay a fair market value price for an airline ticket is asking too much. I have stated many times that I would like to be able to buy a new car today for what one cost back in 1980, but that will never happen. The flying public has gotten a long ride of 20+ years of cheap air travel, and it needs to end.

Fares have been relatively affordable because the carriers were in fierce competition for the markets during the deregulated enviroment. Now that consolidation has occurred and is still occuring, specifically with the major legacies, the fares will start to really rise.


WT, I know you know how this works.

Once the public clamor starts, with less competition to choose from, and each carrier offering basically the same service there will be a demand to reregulate the fare structure as it was back before 1978.

 

[WorldTraveler]

WT, I know you know how this works.

Once the public clamor starts, with less competition to choose from, and each carrier offering basically the same service there will be a demand to reregulate the fare structure as it was back before 1978.

You do realize that air fares are cheaper relative to the overall cost of living now than they were in 78?

Should we also rise up and complain about the cost of telecommunications services which have also consolidated?

BTW, airlines are improving their operational performance better of late than they have done for decades. The best way to avoid criticism of the cost of living is to provide reliable, fair service.
Flights are more on-time -and that will likely improve as more flights are pulled from the system - baggage handling is improving, and the gov't has succeeded at forrcing airlines to disclose more fare information than ever before.

If anything happens w/ respect to regulation, it will likely be requiring that fees are taxed. While alot of people criticize airline fees, they have created a revenue stream that is outside of the tax structure. That might be one reason why ULCC carriers which have much higher ratios of fee to fare revenue, are doing so well.
But when you consider that the rest of air fares are so heavily taxed, the government might not even try to go there, esp. since the airlines would vigorously fight any attempts to further regulate parts of the industry - fares - without fixing other parts that were also part of deregulation.

 

[wings396]

So can we regulate gas prices, food, taxes, etc because
they are all out of control. I can tell you for certain that my wages are damn near what the were 20 years ago.