FWAAA

Don't know the source of your information, but as to the legacies, it's almost completely wrong. DL and UA posted 2009 losses of at least $1.0 billion each, and US lost a half a billion dollars. CO lost $295 million. The only part you got right was AA's sizable 2009 loss.

For 2009, Delta lost $1.2 billion, including $169 million in special items; excluding special items, Delta lost $1.0 billion:

http://news.delta.com/index.php?s=43&item=872

In 2009, United lost $1.1 billion, excluding special items:

http://www.united.com/press/detail/0...1583-1,00.html

In 2009, US Airways lost $499 million, excluding special items:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....149&highlight=

In 2009, Continental lost $295 million, excluding special items:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....417&highlight=

Delta reported that it would have earned $291 million if it had excluded $1.4 billion in fuel hedge losses - losses suffered by UA and AA and not excluded by either.

CO's loss of $295 million (a little less than $1 million per day) was not exactly "essentially break even."

HeathrowGuy

The A330 is very much a compelling competitor to the 764 and 777s (when used on TATL) - it'd be a great upgauge for flying to CO's heavier TATL routes, offering 777-like pax and volumteric cargo lift without the weight -- and cost -- of the 777.

Beyond that, I wouldn't see the A350 order going anywhere if CO and UA merged, provided it met or exceeded the specs provided by Airbus. It offers significant upside compared to the 764s and 777s on many mission types, including runs to Europe and South America.

bocastephen

Really? By what metric?

Cargo:
764 - 129.6 m3
330 - 136.0 m3

Passengers (2 class):
764 - 304
330 -335

Range:
764 - 5,625 nm
330 - 5,650 nm

It barely nudges the 764, and the 350 is so far from production you can't even consider its specs as they're likely to change or the program scrapped altogether...the 787 will be flying around the world long before the first 350 gets its first coat of paint. Considering the pricing CO gets from Boeing, the tiny differences above do not compute.

Adding in the fact that Airbus is crap compared to Boeing, there is no reason for CO to consider the costs and complexities of adding Airbus to its fleet.

ConciergeMike

Please move this to the appropriate forum.

colpuck

ahh the decent into . A little of the UA forum has come to us.

dlen111

the merger of HP and US would have been complete years ago if not for one thing. the former US pilots. per their signed agreement, an arbitrator made a ruling on how seniority was going to be handled. the crybabies at US east, didnt like that, so they formed their own union, to the disgrace of pilots around the world.

a judge then again ruled in favor of the original agreement. it was appealed and then again ruled in favor of the original agreement. they just wont quit on the east.

the ruling is now in the hands of the appeals judge. she is taking her time in order to write a ruling that is ironclad and cannot be appealed again.

once this ruling comes down, the merger is complete and the crews and AC of both airlines can begin to comingle.

Renard

When you make statements like this, it is pretty difficult for anyone to take this and other such statements as anything other than blind CO COol-aid cheer-leading.

ConciergeMike

Fixed it for you.

Renard

Thank you. More precise and to the point.

bocastephen

What does my dislike for Airbus have to do with blindly cheerleading for CO? I don't like Airbus regardless of what airline is using their crap planes. I do admire CO for remaining loyal to Boeing, however - and I'm sure that loyalty has been rewarded.

If you want to fly around in a plastic airplane run by computer systems constantly second-guessing pilots and having near-total control over all flight systems, be my guest. I've seen enough havoc caused by their equipment. Pilots fly airplanes, not computers.

ConciergeMike

Some Airbuses are still made primarily of aluminum, but this one is not.



That is a plastic airplane.

Steph3n

and this may be the first flying forehead to take off on grass, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YBZc...ayer_embedded#

But I don't know what it has to do with the subject at hand....
If CO management is running the place there will be Airbii around for a decade at least.

HeathrowGuy

So as not to take the thread OT, I'll simply say that the 330 numbers, at minimum, deserve a breakdown by 330-200 vs. 330-300, and the 330 max range numbers are WAY off (the A330-200's range now exceed's 7,000 nm on account of the latest improvements by Airbus).

DUKEswoosh

Apologies if this has already been posted, but I found some of the content in this article alarming (bolding mine):

"Should Continental be left out of the fray, it might have to transform to remain competitive. The airline could grow organically, become a niche airline serving certain markets or even transform into a low-cost airline, some analysts said."

Obviously this would never happen on international routes, but we are already seeing a lot of unbundling on domestic flights.

In addition, there was this good nugget:

"Even though United and Continental ended merger talks in 2008, their pilot groups talk up two to three times a week and have continued to discuss the possibility of a merger, said Capt. Jay Pierce, head of Continental's pilot union."

More after the jump:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63903J20100410

pptp

In case anyone hasn't seen this from yesterday.

Continental expected to make United bid

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/busin...html?viewAll=y