UA Fan

Does anyone think that AA might not be really interested in the merger due to it's recent logo change? Why would a company spend money on that when they know the future bosses may scrap it?

nall

On the other hand, the tail resembles the US logo.

dcAA

AA's logo change is not a sign of AA's future plan. AA is the more valuable brand name, and hence it will be the surviving brand regardless of who is in control of the merged airline.

Moreover, what AA wants is irrelevant. The creditors will decide whether a merger occurs.

nkedel

I didn't say they weren't good; both are very convenient for a lot of reasons, and they lower transaction costs -- overall, mostly good. What I said was they're, "neither of those are ALL good" (or if you prefer "entirely good.")

Etickets: along with convenience, you make it a lot harder to interline in the case of problems (and give up some older rights), you have less recourse if the airline screws up or has IT problems, etc.

See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...travelers.html (boy, old thread!)

Online ticketing increases the opportunity for airlines to make pricing opaque, and to offer price discrimination depending on channel and who's buying. They've also made travel agents an expensive luxury, and taken that aspect of expertise out of the system -- an irrelevance to those of us on FT who know what we're doing anyway, but not an entirely good thing for folks who are not hip to the minutia of air travel in the 2000s.

Overall, they're a good thing, but they did come with some downsides.

elitetraveler

You're saying it was sabotage by disgruntled AA employees???

http://blog.apex.aero/cabin-interior...aga-continues/

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is looking into what went wrong and even the airline’s own examiners have found evidence that confusion reigned at Timco and Certified Aviation Services, the two contract maintenance sites where work on American’s airplane seats was being conducted.
...

After interviewing workers at Timco’s headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina and Boston, Edward Macaskill, a maintenance manager at the airline wrote a damning assessment of the company that had worked on both of the airplanes that had flight interruptions caused by the loose seats. “There was no consistent understanding of how the seats were supposed to be installed,” he wrote, thereby summarizing a large chunk of the story. American Airlines declined to make Macaskill available for this story.

IMO both airlines are safe --- however, I was responding to a poster who accused Parker/US of having a strategy of saving money by not maintaing its fleet. Here are some of the safety violations you are not aware of.


FAA could fine American Airlines $162M for violations - Travel on ...
http://www.nbcnews.com/.../faa-could...ati...American Airlines could be facing more financial problems. The Federal Aviation Administration is looking to charge the Fort Worth-based car…


FAA Tells Court It May Fine American Airlines Over Safety - Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/.../faa-tel...airlines...Aug 7, 2012 – s American Airlines may face the largest penalties ever pursued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for safety violations, according to a ...

Press Release – FAA Seeks Penalties Against American Airlines for ...
www.faa.gov › NewsAug 14, 2008 – Press Release – FAA Seeks Penalties Against American Airlines for Deferred Maintenance, Other Violations. Print …

F.A.A. Proposes $24 Million Fine for American Airlines - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/bu...27fine.htmlAug 26, 2010 – Shortly after a 2008 deadline, the F.A.A. said it detected violations at American on 10 MD-80s during inspections at the airline's hub in …

FAA urges $787,500 in fines for American Airlines - CNN
articles.cnn.com/.../american.airlines.fine_1_american-airlines-faa-ins...Mar 12, 2010 – ... in fines against American Airlines for maintenance violations. ... American says it will meet with the FAA to discuss the proposed penal tie


The seats coming loose - by the way - were due to improperly installation by an outside vendor chosen by the AA management you fanatically worship @:-)

LAXJFKesq

If it looks like a duck, .......

As for the stories you posted, the articles are no longer there. However, based on the date, I assume it dealt with AA's grounding on the MD-80. Your posting of multiple articles on the same issue is a bit deceptive. IIRC, DL also was impacted by the grounding of the MD-80. Meanwhile, AA does most of its maintenance in the US not foreign repair stations. Most other airlines, legacy and new carriers, can't make that claim. Funny how you forgot to post the links to that relevant fact.

Mary Kirby

Problems with AA seat installs persist. Have you seen the latest update?

http://blog.apex.aero/cabin-interior...tion-scrutiny/

serfty

I suggest all could go back to the roots/beginnings of this thread.

The general gist of those posts is that it is likely there WILL be a merger between AA and US - the only question is "when?".

Either before AA emerges from Ch 11 protection (US 'takeover' of AA).

Or after AA emerges from Ch11 protection (AA 'takeover' of US).

UA Fan

Good point, I have personally experienced that joy. Had to spend a night on a bench in FRA because of that. Overall I still like e-tickets.

uxb

That would be refreshing, but this is FT.

diver858

I may be giving the parties more credit than they deserve, but there may be another reason why the M&A discussion has been dragging on: both AMR and LCC clearly understand that bigger is not better. The former's cornerstone strategy made some fundamental changes to route structure, initial results suggest success. The latter retreated from hubs such as LAS, LGA and PIT when it became obvious they could not compete.

It is entirely possible that they may be negotiating with other airlines, leaseholders and airports, in an effort to define the structure, strategy of a combined entity - IN ADVANCE. For example, rather than strengthen DL or UA, Republic could become an interesting third party to a deal:
1. Work a deal with F9 for routes / hubs (related staff) that don't fit, in particular - PHX.
2. Following http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...can-eagle.html, the combined entity could also outsource a significant portion of US Express service they intend to keep.

Such an approach not only makes good business sense, but should prevent the new entity from becoming the world's largest airline, reducing the risk of regulatory scrutiny.

diver858

Interesting to find no M&A-related comments regarding the latest codeshare announcements - AS, 9K replacing AE out of SJU. While they could be unrelated, I consider the most recent announcements as a further sign of commitment to the cornerstone strategy, relying on OW and codeshare partners (including B6) for other domestic, international routes. If this is indeed the case, where does LCC fit in to the picture?

nall

Alaska(AS) out of SJU?

diver858

I am referring to 2 DIFFERENT, unrelated code share announcements. Would a semicolon have been more appropriate, to further differentiate them?

badgerW

Could you provide a link to this announcement? (and the AS one as well) I can't seem to find anything. Cape Air flies 8-seater Cessnas, I can't see them replacing AE in any meaningful capacity, and it appears that it's to just a few locations.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/capeair.jsp