US Air buyout of Delta--thoughts?

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_319063923.html

Will this improve the situation for both? And will customer service improve at all?

 

Two crappy airlines getting together to make one big crappy airline. That would be fun.

 

It would be impossible for Delta customer service to get any worse... especially in Atlanta.

 

As a regular -- and disgusted -- miles-hostage denizen of Delta, I can say it can't get much worse.

I mean Delta doesn't even have the pretense of caring anymore. Dennis Miller's routine about cranky stewardesses, errr flight attendants, was 10 years ahead of its time with Delta.

Of course, Delta's management wants nothing to do with this. But when your stock is trading at $1.50 a share and you're absent any poison-pill defenses (I believe), you may not have any choice.

 

According to the story, Delta doesn't seem interested in the deal. More importantly, what happens to all my Delta points?

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never really had any problems with Delta, and I've flown Delta out of Atlanta dozens of times.

 

One of my finance professors specializes in mergers and acquisitions -- specifically the airline industry. And her husband's a Delta pilot.

I'll ask her tomorrow about her thoughts.

 

it won't happen.

 

Delta made money in its last quarter and might, just might, be on a path that could get it out of bankruptcy in 2007. I think Delta would rather try to go it and only consider a merger or buyout as a last resort.

No one has to worry about losing their miles. All the miles will be consolidated if this really does materialize.

The overwhelming sentiment in Atlanta is to tell US Airways to get lost, and I don't blame the people who count on Delta or Hartsfield/Jackson for their livelihood. If a merger/buyout happens, they're most likely looking at huge layoffs and Atlanta downsized as a hub, which has all kinds of ramifications for that area's economy.

As someone who would rather have more direct options and not have to change planes in Atlanta as often, I could see this as perhaps being a small benefit to me. On the other hand, if we end up with fewer major airlines in this country, fares are going up, not down.

 

Now they can lose Delta passengers' baggage in Philly . . . a luggage-handler's hell, in all aspects.

 

Hartsfield just added a fifth runway at a cost of $1.28 billion (the fill dirt used as its foundation was something like $350 million), and Delta's presence I'm sure played a huge role in getting it built. Subtract Delta's passengers and it could well take forever to get the bonds paid off.

 

How the hell does a runway cost more than a billion bucks?

 

Miles are safe, but if this goes through, you'll be competing against more people for fewer free seats.

Delta will fight this to the end to stay on their own, but keep in mind that because they are in bankruptcy, the ultimate decider in this is the bankruptcy court and the bankruptcy creditors, so it's not entirely a US Air/Delta decision.

I have a feeling Atlanta will go hard in support of Delta on this--not just the runway, but the whole southeast presence Delta owns and being the gateway to the South.

One area of overlap that definitely goes if this happens: the Northeast BOS/NY/DC shuttles. they both have one--one gets ditched.