AA777

Better service in F than AA? Really? Really? Are you REALLY going to make that argument?

Cheers,
AA777

Ambraciot

Tell that to BOS, SJU, STL, RDU and I suppose to be more inclusive LAS, PIT and probably some others.

hillrider

WHAT A SPINELESS TOOTHLESS WINDOW-DRESSING DEAL!

From the Fortune article:

So not only there are no penalties, but there's a built-in automatic out clause for HPdbaAA. You can say bye-bye to some hubs starting in the 2014/2015 timeframe; this merger is the same like AA/TW, DL/NW and CO/UA etc., where promises are lies. Expect PHX and CLT to pretty much go away, and PHL become a shade of its former self. Good job DAs!

And, of course, as discussed before, the agreement to continue service to certain airports is probably total BS as well, as I am sure HPdbaAA is free to substitute 7-daily service on a 738 at $200 average fare with a single, daily flight on an ATR-72 with a $800 (or higher) average fare -- or even reply on the "MAC" clause to renege. Again, great job DAs!

Here are my previous comments, which unfortunately seem spot on.

hillrider

I copy the punch line here:

austin_modern

[CNBC]

I was a little surprised to see that they were targeting the January 7th date for the freq flyer miles to be all converged. Has there been any details on this - besides speculation?

PWMTrav

I said same service in Y. All I said about F service on US is that I've had good service there lately. Haven't flown AA F.

Anyway, what makes you think AA's service is going to drop substantially? Because Doug Parker's in charge? AA's brand and loyalty are built off of not sucking. The FF program is an example - it's entirely geared toward people who actually fly, unlike the others who at the extreme (DL) you can get status without ever being on a plane. I don't think that's going away. There has to be some reason AA is the brand the merged airline is sticking with and not US.

PWMTrav

Guessing that means reciprocal crediting of miles, not merging balances or the program. Just being able to credit to US when flying AA and v.v.

ubernostrum

I read.

Apparently your argument is that if you paint "American Airlines" on the side of the plane, the seat inside it magically gets more comfortable.

hillrider

The CX-redesigned version of the Cirrus product has been universally judged better than the initial/stock version. AA has the former, US has the latter.

Not all Cirrus seats are the same. Just having a Cirrus seat does not magically make it the best of the series. The mechanism is the same, but the cushioning and amount of privacy (plus other items like lighting, TV screen, etc.) are all different.

austin_res

Any speculation on the logo and livery of the merged airline? Sure, that's probably a lower priority item, but it is part of the airline's branding.

Options:
1) Use the new livery AA is rolling out
2) Use the US livery with American as the name: http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...hp?id=00015619
3) Create a new livery

iahphx

I don't understand these comments. They don't reflect a detailed knowledge of the airline industry.

CLT is an EXTREMELY valuable hub. It's perhaps the jewel in the US Airways systems -- at least for a merger partner. What does not seem to be well understood is that there are only 2 viable hubs in the South. ATL and CLT. If you had to own one, you'd prefer ATL, because it is a bigger city and has more corporate travel. That said, CLT is extremely valuable real estate and is considered one of the most profitable airline hubs in the world. It also has some significant advantages over ATL: less competition (LUV has a large presence in ATL thanks to the AirTran purchase) and better geography (look at a map of the Eastern seaboard and see why).

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11793...-anything.html

I would anticipate that CLT will grow larger after the merger. AA can leverage its strength in Latin America to route more traffic through CLT. MIA is a great origin/destination market, but connections north are scarce. You probably will also see more flights west after the merger.

PHX is in a more difficult situation. There's no question that DFW is a better hub for East-West travel. And you have a large Southwest operation at PHX, meaning lots of competition. That said, I would not think that the combined airlines operation at PHX will shrink. It's a great O/D market and will undoubtedly grow over time as Arizona will continue benefit from California's "live-ability" problems. And the geography of PHX isn't bad for serving lots of SoCal destinations (it's not like everybody in SoCal wants to drive to LAX -- an obvious point if you've driven the freeways there). I would also expect the new airline to offer more int'l service.

PHL also isn't going away and is actually likely to grow. PHL is one of the largest transatlantic gateway hubs now, and will only get bigger. You can't route that connecting traffic through JFK and the Philly metro area is large enough to support plenty of traffic. It's also a great fortress hub. Philly will be fine -- and bigger.

iahphx

I'm more than 90% certain they'll go with the new AA livery. At first, it seemed a little shocking for those of us who've grown up on the traditional AA livery. But, I must admit, it's grown on me over time. There's nothing special about the US livery, unlike CO's great global tail and clean lines. Those mock-up combos you've linked to look silly.

Jacobin777

A number of OneWorld carriers such as BA, CX, QR, etc. have 3 tiers as well so it very well might be that NewAA will keep the 3 tiers. Also, the NewAA will be keeping the current AAdvantage head-Suzanne Rubin. Lets hope that's a "plus".

+1

+1!

So I guess DL, who's profits and expansion in the NYC-metro has improved noticably hire "Armchair CEO's" as well?

Does US even fly to Asia?

+1. I've been stating all along the "lollipops" Parker & Co. have offered the various unions is nothing more than that.."lollipops". Costs are going to increase big time and I don't see where the "revenue synergies" (besides firing people) are going to come from.

Don't forget, US has a nice huge bond payment of >$1 billion coming up in 2014. Guess where that's coming from?

This is the b.s. from the APA:

". "Merging with US Airways will remedy American Airlines' longstanding network shortfalls and put American on equal footing with Delta and United. With the merger, American will offer travelers a viable alternative to Delta and United.

"Today marks the culmination of an aggressive and unconventional strategy APA began pursuing early last year. Our primary goals were to help ensure American would survive and thrive, thereby ensuring long-term career stability for our pilots. This merger will accomplish both goals.

"With the DOJ settlement, American now has the opportunity to return to a position of industry preeminence. We look forward to working with our colleagues at the US Airline Pilots Association as we shift our focus to negotiating a joint collective bargaining agreement.""

https://public.alliedpilots.org/apa/...nd-Thrive.aspx


As if this will "pan out" in a few years.....MUAHAHAHAHA!!

Like I said, I cannot wait to see the unions (especially the APA and APFA) start "crying foul" and "we can't deal with Parker-he's got to go" rants

Ambraciot

While I'm not saying CLT is doomed (especially given the scope of concessions new AA made at DCA), CLT does have a lot in common with AA's former hub at RDU. 2.3 million locals vs 2.0 million, same geographic area, less corporate contracts...

ty97

While I agree that domestic connection in NYC are not ideal due to the already high traffic, Jetblue built itself up from nonexistent to a power LCC player via (originally) a sole, domestic-only hub at JFK. (Obviously, they have branched out a bunch since then)