In regard to those who want to "shoot the messenger" that there will likely be mergers or fragmentations of legacy carrier's in the "not-to-distant", United is shopping assets for sale that include TED, or the UCT/ICT, what's your opinion of the following two articles?
How US Airways/America West merger got off the ground -- Talks between airlines began in 2003, but didn't get serious until this year
But there were several twists along the way, according to people familiar with the events. America West was not the only carrier to express interest in US Airways, nor was America West the only partner US Airways pursued.
The search for a deal began in the fall of 2003, when David Siegel was still US Airways' chief executive officer. Siegel had led US Airways through its first bankruptcy and wrested more than $1 billion in concessions from the company's labor unions. But even as the carrier completed a painful round of cost cuts and emerged from bankruptcy, Siegel knew US Airways was still too small and too inefficient to compete against discounters such as Southwest, which had already announced plans to start service in Philadelphia, a US Airways' hub.
Siegel was convinced that for US Airways to avoid the fate of failed carriers such as Eastern Airlines and Pan Am, both of which liquidated in the 1980s, he would have to bring US Airways' costs down further and position the airline for consolidation with another carrier. He explored several options.
Acquire United Airlines, the nation's No. 2 carrier. That option was code-named "Project Minnow," with US Airways as the small fish gobbling the bigger one.
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Will US Airways' fifth trip down the merger runway be successful? Over the years, US Airways has eyed marriage with United (twice) and American (twice), only to be spurned. But observers believe its latest trip to the altar, with America West, may prove successful
David Siegel took US Airways through its first bankruptcy. After reemerging in 2003, he soon realized that costs had not been cut enough and the carrier faced heightened competition from Southwest and other low-cost carriers on the East Coast.
He began an aggressive search for new partners.
He approached United again -- part of an initiative code-named "Project Minnow," with US Airways as the small fish swallowing the bigger one.
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ALPA is preparing for more M&A activity or fragmentations that could effect the new US Airways, its revitalized airline, and much stronger balance sheet. For those people who continue to "shoot the messenger" regarding United Airlines, what's your opinion of the two articles hyperlinked above and "Project Minnow"?
Regards,
USA320Pilot