Bruce Lakefield is not an airline person. He is a finance person. He orchestrated this complex merger using non traditional sources of financing. As critical as I and many other people have been on US's mgmt team, looking at what he has done just to pull this off reminds me more of a good game of chess then anything else.
In chess you alway have to presume that your opponent will always make the best possible move for him and you have to think several moves in advance in order to counter and strike when the momemt presents itself. I think he looked at the board at 30,000 feet came up with a game plan needed to pull off a merger.
Looking at the entire industry at 30,000 can give you an interesting perspective on the entire playing field. By themselves, each were weak on their opposite coasts. Their individual route structures complement each other beautifully.
SEA_Tigger reported in this
thread , UA makes about $300 million from US codeshares annually. UA had a reported loss for the 2004 of about $617 million. UA can't afford to loose an extra $300 million in revenue on top of their current losses.
It behooves UA not to do anything to oppose the continued existance of US in *. Even if they did oppose US in *, UA alone does not *A make. *A needs to look at what is best for *A. The U.S. is too big of a market for the world's largest airline alliance to not have a presence in.
They need a plan B if UA implodes. This merger gives *A a very good plan B to serve the U.S. market.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find the reference that AZ Travels the World used with UA and *. The best I found was
here
Q: Will the merged airlines participate in the Star Alliance and the codeshare agreement with United Airlines ?
A: The merger envisions continued participation in the Star Alliance and code sharing with United Airlines. Now that the merger agreement is complete and announced, we can begin discussions with Star Alliance carriers and United to address the issues .
and
here from the press release.
In addition to the operating synergies created by the merger, the new relationship with Air Canada provides for even greater operating improvements. The merged airline and Air Canada plan to work together to create value for each other through maintenance contracts, airport handling agreements and the eventual expansion of the Star Alliance agreement, which could include codesharing with Air Canada, consistent with the U.S.-Canada bilateral aviation agreement.
All of this would seem to point that one way or another the new US will continue to be a member of *.
Originally Posted by AZ Travels the World
As for North Dakota and Wyoming -- I'm sure you can get there via UA Express -- a Star Alliance Partner!
You probably can get there on UAX, but there is just something nice about being able to go to a location on your home airline. Besides think of the marketing possibilities to be able to say
US serves ALL 50 States. It would help drive home the point that there is a new national low cost carrier in town. Although serving Delaware doesn't make much sense with PHL being so close by.
Both airlines have opened a new chapter in their histories today. Some people have said this is like lashing the Titanic to a lifeboat in a desperate attempt to save one airline by dragging down another.
I see it as something else. They have opened a new book. The pages are blank. In the coming days and weeks this new entity is going to start putting words in the book. The book is called Opportunity. The first chapter is New Year's Day. This new entity will draw its strengths from both airlines, and hopefully learn from the mistakes and weakness from both its predecessors. Where they go from here is anyone's guess, but they are off to a very good start.
A new door has opened. The future is now. It's time for all of us to step through that door and into a new beginning, because whether we like change or not. It is coming.