US Airways Saga Proves Mergers Only a Band-Aid

[legacy-to-LCC]

Not being at the dance,however, will leave us (employees) stagnant and vulnerable.

and, who do we have to thank for that?
take your aqua green and orange glasses off for a moment and consider the prevailing (and DOT confirmed) perception of the usairways' product...what legacy carrier wants that sinker attached to their line? again, who do we have to thank for that?
one thing is for sure, scooter won't be getting any reach-arounds from DoUgIe once the dust has settled from the impending merger mania.

 

[Be Careful What You Wish For.]

and, who do we have to thank for that?

Was this any different before the merger?

 

[CynicalResAgent]

This was a case of be careful what you wish for. If it had gone through, CLT would have been in big trouble-maybe even PHX with SLC so close by.

I agree 100%. I think CLT in favor of ATL and both PHX and LAS would have suffered with SLC nearby. Who knows what would have happened with JFK and PHL. Their terminal in JFK isn't so nice and they don't have much room maybe both could have coexisted to some extent as they do now. Anyway the deals off, but that sort of thing is what I think the industry is wanting to see happen.

It's not what the workers need or want but I think it's what the money people in the industry are looking to see happen.

 

[Be Careful What You Wish For.]

It's not what the workers need or want but I think it's what the money people in the industry are looking to see happen.

And we will either gain or suffer depending on where the chips fall. One thing is for certain though-what we want to happen is not part of the equation.

 

[CynicalResAgent]

And we will either gain or suffer depending on where the chips fall. One thing is for certain though-what we want to happen is not part of the equation.

again, totally agree. It'll be off the backs of the workers that money will be made but it will never be the employees that will be making the money...

 

[nycbusdriver]

This merger could have and should have been a rousing success on all fronts and now judging from the stock price what we have is a Lose-lose-lose proposition as not only have the customers & employees lost big time, but it seems the shareholders have as well.

Great post, Bob. The Tempe mindset pretty much missed out on every point.

Somehow, I feel that Doogie thinks that as long as profits are pouring in, the merger is a success. In the short term, that may look correct. What is missing is the "depth" of the profits. The money is coming in almost entirely from leisure travelers which is a distinctly dangerous way to set up an airline operation. Yields can go from profitable to devastating in a matter of days when (not if) another "perfect storm" presents itself. It doesn't even have to be of the magnitude of 9/11.

You can't get consistent profits from a customer base which has the option to just stay home at a whim, or drive to their vacation. The deep roots are with the high-yield business traveler who sees airline travel as a cost of doing business and sets his/her own prices accordingly. Doogie has effectively killed off those roots with gusto, almost as if he thought he was trying to kill a weed.

The next big burp in the airline industry will turn our millions of dollars in profits to phenomenal losses overnight, and we will burn through those billions in cash that Doogie gloats over in a year or so.

And who will AGAIN be left holding the bag? The employees.