sxf24

Actually, UAL Corp, the parent company of United Air Lines, Inc., purchased Continental Airlines, Inc. UAL Corp subsequently changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc. and continues to own both airlines.

If there is an M&A transaction with AA, I would expect it to be equally ambiguous and complex, spawning endless threads of who took over who and the subsequent bias management has against customers from either (or both) camps.

RealFan

It seems obvious that the one merger transaction which would not be scrutinized by the feds would be US/AA. Were that to happen, how might the global alliances work? Would US leave *A and join OW? Or is there a scenario in which AA actually joins *A and leaves OW?

nkedel

On the main BK thread, someone pointed out that in the event of a likely liquidation or takeover by a non-OW carrier, some of the other OW carriers might well step in to shore up AA to prevent it (rather as AA did a few years ago with JL when it was being courted by DL.)

IAG, in particular, has already been mentioned in this thread, and the rumor that IAG would be interested in acquiring AA (or at least a large interest in it) if regulators would allow it was around long before BK.

nall

US would almost certainly leave *A for OW.

FWAAA

Antitrust regulators would not likely approve AA joining Star on its own (AA would not likely be permitted to join the immunized alliance with UA/LH, etc), so the hypothetical combined US-AA would not be permitted to join the Star Alliance ATI joint venture. I think it's a certainty that a combined US-AA would remain in OneWorld.

As an aside, US brings so little to Star Alliance that US is not a part of the immunized alliance and is thus the only US-based legacy airline that has to compete for transatlantic business with its alliance "partners." US would similarly bring little to OneWorld, but of course, AA is a key member.

Global_Hi_Flyer

The hard product is a mixed bag for me. Better than AA, worse than B6 or VX (for example). YMMV. NW had made some substantial improvements by the time the merger came around. Leadership made union issues and merger uncertainties a priority -> the integration ranks highly in situation where there are often failures.

Personally, I find the customer service to be substantially less than it used to be and worse than some others. YMMV. I find that it's much harder to get things done that are permitted by the rules.... much of the human element has been removed in favor of the almighty computer algorithm. Yes, it's important to make money, but it needs to be tempered with rational service exceptions. And yes, there are some failings of their computer systems that favor the company (and hurt the customer) that have been that way for years and years.

No question.

I'm not sure that Anderson would be the right guy to integrate AA and DL, either (or put more precisely, I'm not sure he would enjoy the same success). He had a distinct advantage at DL because: 1) he came from Northwest (therefore knew the culture & people) and spent time at DL getting to know the company before the transaction, and 2) he followed Grinstein who was IMHO a great leader. Anderson doesn't know AA.

DFW and MIA are likely to transfer intact without major objection. Generally in the case where one company is failing (bankruptcy is prima facia evidence of failure), the government won't require breaking up domination in a single market just because the market is bought whole and intact. LAX and JFK are likely to be issues, as are some of the routes. It's the additive effect rather than just dominance in a given market.

Remember that bankrupt companies are treated a bit differently.

And DL has a great deal of data on the DFW market that formed the basis of their decision to dehub the market.

I don't think this will be judged on individual cities/airports, but rather the cumulative effect nationwide (much like ATT/TMo was). Neither AA nor DL are "regional" airlines - it's the impact on nationwide footprint. That said, I think an opponent could raise the issue of airfares at a couple of DL's fortress hubs as being the highest in the nation.

Ambraciot

There's a new article on the other FT that conjectures about a possible bid by UAL and which alliance a merged DL/AA would end up in.

If you google its title: "AMR takeover could put alliances in doubt" you should be able to read the article.

Upgraded!

I've only read through half of the thread, so forgive me if this was already discussed, but so far I've seen no mention of one of the most common reasons competitors emerge as bidders in this type of situation: it's not because they're serious potential acquirers, it's because they want access to nonpublic information. Sure there will be confidentiality clauses when AA opens all of its books (and shares all of the other info not required in quarterly/annual disclosures) but it would be nearly impossible to keep DL or US from somehow acting on (even if not revealing) any of that information.

ts3

The most reasonable article I've seen yet:

American Airlines is better off flying solo

CApreppie

Well I hope AA remains solo since it is better for competition and passengers. If a merger had to happen, a US+AA would be the simplest as others have stated. UA or DL would be subject to much scrutiny and would require a lot of divesting. If AT&T couldn't buy T-Mobile, I doubt DL could buy AA in any manner. If the White House changes, anything goes then though.

abcrocker

Thread title includes WSJ - different source here but figured this thread was as apt as any.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-0...venue-gap.html

chazas

I love it - US saying that AA has a deficient flight network.

That said, being an AA plat in DC, a US/AA merger probably would be good for me. I'm very skeptical of all this early positioning chatter, though.

kingarthur

Did anyone see the interview on CNBC a few minutes ago? It sounded like US Airways is trying to get 25% of the equity to buy AMR from British Airways? Unfortunately I missed part of the story...

BlissWorld

Pretty soon, we will see usairways.com offering itself to AA, just like it offered to Delta when Delta was in bankruptcy.

And just like Delta, AA will tell them thanks but no thanks!

Ambraciot

I thought that part had already happened. Now if Delta suggests a merger with AA keeping the AA name, livery and AAdvantage...