Originally Posted by
DL Platinum
Oh dear god, help us!
On a DL / UA merger:
Interesting, and possible on many levels, but I can't see it happening as it would create many regulatory chellenges to overcome, creating the worlds largest airline. I used fly UA and held P1K status. UA is different than DL, but 1000% better than NW. Once again, hubs, especially CVG and SLC would come into serious question. Can't see ORD, DEN, or ATL changing much. Could cause a BIG change in the ability to upgrade. UA heavilly limits upgrading by utilizing 500 mile upgrade certificates.
I agree that regulatory issues could be problematic but given the price oil, the gov't may be more willing to listen.
As for DEN not changing much, I could not disagree more. UA is rapidly losing ground to the LCCs in DEN a la WN's announcement of new flights this week at the expense of contracting elsewhere. SLC is a fortress hub and is in a better position to command higher revenue per passenger mile. In a DL/UA combination you would expect to see European operations concentrate at ATL, ORD and JFK and Asian operations at LAX, SFO and, to a smaller degree, ORD. DEN would only be used as a domestic hub, at which point there is no advantage to remaining there when you are competing against a LCC hub and an LCC with an ever-growing presence.
What I don't understand is why the DL pilots are posturing so aggressively. Any thoughts?
I think I'll slip over to the UA and NW forums and see what their take is on all of this.