Originally Posted by
drsan
Time will tell.
Indeed time will tell!
While I remain optimistic with a low expectation WRT the combined DL+NW, Im also looking at this as different than some other traditional takeovers for cost elimination type mergers (acquisitions) such as AA finally taking over TWA, which in your various posts you make reference to. Let’s keep TWA in perspective, it was severely wounded after years of neglect and at STL IIRC, WN had already made an inroads.
The difference I see and hope for, (perhaps still drinking some of the DL+NW coolaid, as it is the holiday season right?) is that I dont see the combined DL simply looking to shed costs, A/C, people, facilities, systems and so forth just to maintain current status quo existence. The more recent M&A scenarios have given way to the older scenario of M&A to build and grow, instead today being about cost reduction.
Perhaps we are seeing something different or a hybrid scenario here which would have DL+NW really looking at being a stronger viable brand and service experience going forward. That would mean leveraging the best of both sides, alignment and re-alignment of technologies including systems, aircraft, branding, soft and hard services, staffing and so forth, all of which fly in the face of wall street thinking and desire to cut cut cut cut instead of streamline, invest, leverage, build, save, grow, expand and transform.
What does any of this have to do with this thread? Simple, I don’t see an across the board sweep of NW gates moving to DL gates. Consequently I don’t expect that we will see all NW station gates and facilities pick-up and move to where ever DL is, rather leverage the best of including best of brands, services and so forth as we are already starting to see unfold.
So time will tell if Im drinking too much cool-aid on this one and not believing that the NW+DL sky is falling the likes of which happened in STL with TWA and AA.
Suggestion to mods, create a why NW+DL is not the same as AA+TWA thread to move all of these NW+DL and AA+TWA or similar posts to (including this one) which seem to get off topic from the main threads?
-H