US Airways CEO calls for more consolidation

[hp_fa]

UA and US are a whole other ball of wax, although UA can get something for it's Chicago and SFO operations. US does not have any operations or assets (that are not already in hock) that anyone but the leasing companies really wants to "save."

My question is how much are UA's assets in Chicago and SFO worth at this point with declining traffic and real estate values in a depressed economy?

 

[ClueByFour]

My question is how much are UA's assets in Chicago and SFO worth at this point with declining traffic and real estate values in a depressed economy?

A damn sight more than anything US has in PHL or CLT.

 

[RowUnderDCA]

U buys NK..

sells slots and gates and BOS, DCA and LGA to AA

'sells' CLT to CO.

Retains PHL and PHX with NK's FLL and changes its name to PHPHFLLAirways

 

[SolidCactus]

There will be lots of consolidation on the horizon - in all types of companies. We will also see hyper inflation in the future. The sad part is that consolidation may not happen through mergers - it may happen through chapter 11 bankruptcy, and maybe even worse, chapter 7 bankruptcy... There are MANY weak companies out there right now in all industries. Once "inventories" bottom out, and heavily leveraged companies start to fail - we will begin an inflationary cycle. Hold on tight. We're in for a wild ride. It may be 3 years out, but it is coming...

 

[USA320Pilot]

US Airways CEO still interested in airline deals

UAL, which has struggled with labor issues since emerging from its own bankruptcy in 2006, is still the most likely partner (for US Airways) but seems to prefer a marriage with Continental Airlines.

With United and Continental growing closer US Airways could make a good mate with AMR Corp.'s American Airlines.

Click here to read the article.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[hp_fa]

I think you are stretching a bit. I also wonder about anti-trust concerns.

 

[BoeingBoy]

I also wonder about anti-trust concerns.

Especially in the DCA to BOS corridor, where an AA/US merger would give the carrier a sizeable market share advantage over the other carriers (an especially important consideration at slot controlled DCA and LGA). I could see AA buying the Shuttle (if they're still interested since it's not the cash cow it once was) or US sans the Shuttle but the whole of US would probably raise some concerns. Plus, after all AA's done trying to get it's cost down why would it want to merge with one of the highest cost carriers which has a completely different fleet?

Jim

 

[FWAAA]

With United and Continental growing closer US Airways could make a good mate with AMR Corp.'s American Airlines.

Lou Whiteman, the dimwit who wrote this article, is delusional. Witness this nonsense from the end of the article:

. . . and perhaps in Parker find a successor for current CEO Gerard J. Arpey.

That's funny. Drunken Parker is but three years younger than Arpey - and unlike Parker, Arpey has shown real success at turning around an airline without the benefit of Ch 11 and its magical labor-cost reductions. So far, the AMR board appears pleased with Arpey's performance. Parker brings nothing to the table not already possessed by others within AMR.

Business leaders laugh at Parker and his juvenile behaviour, like tying one on the day his Delta bid was rejected (leading to yet another drunk driving arrest). Companies like AMR demand more maturity from their executives, and Parker lacks that maturity.

Merge with US? I doubt AA is a contender. Mismatched fleet, US' high costs and USAPA fiasco? Nothing there that AA needs. AA's got 84 new 738s coming within the next 24 months and 42 787s on order for 2013 and beyond. AA will be focused on repairing itself, not on buying an expensive US.

US has some valuable assets, but Parker is not one of them.

 

[28L_or_10R?]

Parker did get pretty drunk.

 

[SpinDoc]

Two notes:



Nowhere in that tango is US. Were US a sufficient partner, CO would not have been invited to the Star Alliance.



CO is the least likely to fail (of the three) under any scenario. CO also has assets that people want. UA and US are a whole other ball of wax, although UA can get something for it's Chicago and SFO operations. US does not have any operations or assets (that are not already in hock) that anyone but the leasing companies really wants to "save."

My point was that US and UA are both in hock up to their eyeballs to finance companies such as GE, ILFC (AIG), and Airbus, and I can guarantee you that in the current economic environment, none of those three companies can afford to lose revenue streams as large as US or UA. As such, it would be in their interest to make every effort to ensure the survival of both airlines. If this means providing or arranging finance terms to merge the two entities, then they will find the ability to keep both airlines alive. It's kind of like the situation the big banks and investment banks are in, they are too big to fail because their failure precipitates multiple failures from supporting financial structures.

 

[BoeingBoy]

My point was that US and UA are both in hock up to their eyeballs to finance companies such as GE, ILFC (AIG), and Airbus, and I can guarantee you that in the current economic environment, none of those three companies can afford to lose revenue streams as large as US or UA.

The trouble, as far as US is concerned, is that none of those companies hold a significant portion of US' debt, never mind that US represents only a tiny portion of their loans or revenue streams. Citi would have more to worry about than any of these as the holder of the $1.2 billon remaining of what started as the ATSB-backed loans, but that is secured and producing little revenue for them until maturity.

Jim

 

[RowUnderDCA]

Is US's rumored involvement in the DCA perimeter liberalization a consolidation play, to improve US's attractiveness, or do you think US would shift shuttle ops to trans cons from DCA?

 

[Richard]

Just a quick note, albeit a day late.

There are to be NO further comments or insults aimed at one particular member on this board...the next comment aimed at him in particular will get a free vacation.

That said, PLEASE check to make sure articles you want to point to are not already posted elsewhere.

Thank you.

 

[ClueByFour]

Is US's rumored involvement in the DCA perimeter liberalization a consolidation play, to improve US's attractiveness, or do you think US would shift shuttle ops to trans cons from DCA?

DCA won't get liberalized anytime in the near or mid-term future. It's moot.

 

[freedom]

{so on and so forth }

US has some valuable assets, but Parker is not one of them.

i disagree ,he's done some good things for our company as far as cash flow goes , and it was a good move to get authorization for more shares at the last meeting ...