CO-UA tie up still possible

[Dennis]

Bloomberg

So, CO wants to outperform Delta. Interesting. It's like a war between these airlines. I wonder, if the merger does materialize, what will it mean for US? Will it repeat CO's move and go for a tie up with AA (or another LCC)? The way I see it here are the scenarios if the merger does go through:
1. UA will order Boeing jets to ensure commonality with CO
2. US Airways, already dwarfed by CO and UA (I mean, really. What does Star Alliance gain with US?), will probably switch alliances or merge with another airline. Since AA is an all Boeing airline and US is mostly all Airbus, I seriously doubt the two will merge (but it IS possible).

[CK245]

Hey let them keep merging!! Will get to the point where we will have to bail airline companies out because they are too big to fail!
No disrespect to the Delta guys or Continental guys (I know we have many....I'm actually one of them) but these are CEO's that keep merging companies so their bonuses keep getting bigger. In my opinion they don't care about the brand or the history behind the airline itself.

[Dennis]

I have to disagree particularly because of the following:
1. A bank holds people's money. If a bank fails, it means the money of its customers is lost. If an airline fails, there are still methods of transportation available. I'd be more concerned if my bank account (along with my money) disappears rather than my favorite airline. I can switch frequent flier miles to another airline of the alliance and still be able to travel. If my money disappears however, who's going to return it to me?
2. Airlines are a business; therefore, the idea is free competition. If I see a threat looming I'd make sure to contain it or at least let it know not to mess with me. That is why CO has not yet ruled out the merger. They know DL is a formidable opponent. If its finances are in order and outperform CO's, then CO will make sure that theirs are performing just as well or maybe even better. In these cases, brand and history rarely come into the picture. DL could have chosen to merge with any other airline, but NW seemed suitable: complementing networks, no route overlap, and aircraft types suitable for all routes.

[Northwestdc9]

I agree with you Dennis but you're missing a key point. American Airlines alone employs over 85,000 people, a lot of them are higher paid and highly skilled jobs.

Continental/United would employ over 90,000 without taking into account their subsidiaries and Express operations or their suppliers / subcontractors.

The government will not allow that many skilled jobs to disappear, not to mention the mass chaos that a major airline going under would cause, at least not suddenly.

Continental/United is almost a guarantee, it just makes too much sense to overlook. I think we'd see a takeover, United's management is a mess, Continental really only wants the planes, routes, customers and hubs.

Delta should be worried, they've been focusing on the shinny goodies like Wi-Fi and IFE while overlooking the core business operations like basic customer service and baggage handling. Something Northwest was very good at, they didn't have IFE at every seat but they'd get you there on-time, with your bag and decent customer service. Delta might keep you entertained with a TV but severe understaffing on a normal operations day, poor customer service and you'll arrive without your bag and no one to find it for you.

Continental has always been a basic customer service airline, yes food is nice and simple IFE is nice, people like Continental because they're consistent and reliable. A takeover of United, merged into and standardized to the Continental method would be a worldwide powerhouse that would dominate the skies.

[a.trailblazer7]

I have to disagree particularly because of the following:
1. A bank holds people's money. If a bank fails, it means the money of its customers is lost. If an airline fails, there are still methods of transportation available. I'd be more concerned if my bank account (along with my money) disappears rather than my favorite airline. I can switch frequent flier miles to another airline of the alliance and still be able to travel. If my money disappears however, who's going to return it to me?
2. Airlines are a business; therefore, the idea is free competition. If I see a threat looming I'd make sure to contain it or at least let it know not to mess with me. That is why CO has not yet ruled out the merger. They know DL is a formidable opponent. If its finances are in order and outperform CO's, then CO will make sure that theirs are performing just as well or maybe even better. In these cases, brand and history rarely come into the picture. DL could have chosen to merge with any other airline, but NW seemed suitable: complementing networks, no route overlap, and aircraft types suitable for all routes.

Dennis, I hope you are talking about a bank that isn't insured by the FDIC. FDIC insures your money, and since banks started failing, I think the rate is now $250,000. So, your hard earned money is alright, as long as they have that.

Nick, you have good points on what you was saying. But what I've learned in life is the bigger they are, the harder they fall. If it would make service better for the customer, then by all means. I've flown on both UA and CO, and between the 2, CO is was better than UA. Plus, the women on CO are hot !!