US Air buyout of Delta--thoughts?

Why is this in the sports and news board?

 

First of all, there is almost never any such thing as a true merger, despite the president of US Airways calling it a merger. Somebody is buying and getting the superior position and will be running things. The first day the Tribune Company purchased the Los Angeles Times, the LA Times called it a merger. The next day, faced with every other media outlet calling it a purchase and the obvious facts of the situation, they acknowledged it was a purchase. Another reason the LA Times doesn't act like a big-time operation, but I digress.

It would seem US Airways is buying the right to be the hub airline in Atlanta, which is more centrally located than Charlotte.

Customer service improving? Probably not. A lot of people will be laid off because of duplication of service and administration, despite the fact that US Airways will say there are no layoffs anticipated.

Will it work? If gas prices decline, probably. If fuel costs increase, all the US airlines will be in deeper trouble.

Why is this on the Sports and News board? Because it is, you know, News.

 

They have said fares will go down on some routes. Tap me on the shoulder when it happens. Even with reduced fares, can a USAir-Delta combo still top Southwest?

 

Exactly. Or Jet Blue?

 

Hopefully Delta's New York-to-Washington DC shuttle can improve on its late rate of 100 percent after the merger (that's right - every Delta shuttle flight on that route arrives late)

 

honestly, i fly delta the most and the only problems i've ever had are win i fly something other than delta

 

This seems like US Air might be over-reaching.

They're still digesting America West--they'll be flying on two certificates for several months yet.

Another point is that Delta and America West have a lot of competing routes out west . . . Delta with its SLC hub and America West with hubs in Las Vegas and PHX. It would really hurt competition out here.

US Air's problem has always been that it has way more short-haul routes than long-haul routes, which means they bring in less revenue even though their cost structure is about the same as other legacy (read Delta, American, Continental, etc.) airlines. So they're probably casting for a quick way to get more long-haul routes, including more international flights than they have now.

Other problems include fleet commonality: US Air flies a lot of Airbus metal with some 757s and 737s. Delta's mostly Boeing equipment, with some MD-80 series thrown in. And the unions would hate it--they all saw how the TWA people got fucked in the AA takeover. Basically, almost everyone except pilots got fired, and pilots ended up very low on AA's seniority list.

I don't think this will fly.

 

Just read the AJC's mainbar and Grinstead plainly says Delta's not interested. The guy with US Air talks like it's a done deal the way that story reads.

 

Delta might not be real happy about it, but unless somebody comes up with a better offer it has a real good chance of happening.

 

While I think US Air planes are shitty and old, and have gotten stranded overnight at both the Philly and Pittsburgh hubs, the only airline that has ever lost my luggage (even if only overnight) is Delta. And it's happened numerous times.

They're always great about getting it to me, whenever they find it - even rolling the suitcase onto the court at my tennis club one time - but still, major hassles.

 

For starters, they built the thing over I-285.

The day Delta starts dumping landing slots at Hartsfield-Jackson-Your Future Dead Politician Here, Southwest will gobble them up with glee. And if you think Delta is hurting now, wait till you see what true price competition in its home base does. Even the much more limited AirTran has put a huge dent into profits.