Billiken

CO should wait for NW, DL or UA to truly fail.
Then buy a carcass for SONG.

UA, IMHO, will be back in bankruptcy before 2008. Cost structure and over-capacity can only be overcome if oil goes back to $40/bbl.

(I hope I'm wrong, but there's just too much capacity in the U.S. air system.)

TWA and PanAm were great "world-class" carriers too.

BTW:
This CO PLAT has been upgraded to F 21 of 25 times this year.
This message posted from the CLE PClub using the FREE WiFi internet access while sipping a coffee + Baileys (free Baileys, that is).

AviationFreak

Why would "holding back on resonable ticket prices for far in advance have anything to signal a merger. IAH-BOS in november is $256.

cadet93

I have spoken to a couple of In Flight Service Managers, and the talk is buzzing like crazy right now. One of the gentlemen spoke of seeing a memo from United top brass that something is actually being ground out with Gordon back at the helm with United.....
Hate spreading rumors, I have been hearing this (not on here, But from CO employees) for about a year now, so there has to be a little truth to it somewhere.....Just wonder what the truth will be......

vincom

Here we go again...

-Vincent

BigPoppaCO

Try buying a seat EWR-ZIH in late december, or EWR to any southern vacation destination outside of the US. There is a hold on all seats, either in Y or F to all mexican destinations in December. We go to mexico over xmas every year and are unable to buy tix on CO. We bought our tix on CO this time 2 years ago for the december trip, but it wont allow us to do it this year for some reason. We had to book Delta, which really sucks.

bocastephen

The time is right...NWA should be out of business in no time flat, probably right after they start charging $15 to use the lav, and a pilot strike or work slowdown at DL should put them out of their misery soon enough.

I think UA and CO are a knockout combination...the merged carrier would be much smaller than UA is now, perhaps sized about the same as DL. My best guess is CO will leave Skyteam to join * Alliance and then stop codeshares and all marketing connections with NW and DL, then begin codeshares with UA. TED will go away, as Gordon has been burned once with an airline-within-an-airline.

I think the process will be slow and one step at a time. Alliance-->codeshares-->marketing tie-ins-->initial FFP integration-->3rd party holding company buyout of both carriers-->staffing/route/fleet adjustments-->full FFP integration-->one carrier, one name, one image

For the FFP...my guess is Platinum will become 100K with SWUs and unlimited domestic upgrades, while the next two tiers will lose free unlimited upgrades in favor of u/g certs (similar to AA's program).

cova

With Gordon at the helm UA will phase over to an all Boeing fleet - like CO did. The Airbus aircraft will eventually be phased out - and I could see the new UA/CO getting the 748 to replace the 744, as well as more 787, etc. If Boeing is offering it, Gordon will buy it with some special deal.

With DL gone, UA/CO will pick up some of the DL compatible aircraft - like the 764. AA will pick up NW Asia and DTW - and maybe some pieces of DL.

Two airlines left - new UA and AA.

Billiken

LOL

vincom

Rumor is it's only $5.00 free to Platinums though.

-Vincent

mywifeisincoach

BINGO!!!!!

bigboofer

For the FFP...my guess is Platinum will become 100K with SWUs and unlimited domestic upgrades, while the next two tiers will lose free unlimited upgrades in favor of u/g certs (similar to AA's program).[/QUOTE]

This would be a real improvement since plat status doesn't get you much on international flights. When CO adds a few E+ seats we will really have it made.

JetAway

As one poster noted, there does not appear to be any CO availability to many/any Mexico, Central or S. American destinations in late December on either the CO website or third-party (Expedia) websites. Very strange.

senatorgirth

Kinda like Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air holding Eastern and Continental?

bocastephen

History doesn't have to repeat itself...and Gordon Bethune, love him or hate him, is no Frank Lorenzo. It would be about the only way to raise the required capital. A legacy airline bringing new stock to the open market now would be laughed at (Expressjet somehow got away with it awhile back and did OK), while a holding company would give interested investors an equity stake in both carriers from day 1.

I see the holding company raising capital strictly though institutions and private placements unless the tender offer included stock and cash. I don't think they can raise enough cash to buy out all the stock given the current price of CAL and UAL.

For those current stockholders of CO, if you were offered $15/sh (price @ time of post is 24.67) of CAL and 1/2 share of the new holding company for every share of CAL tendered, would you take that as a good deal? I am measuring response to my view that a blended CO/UA would be the strongest carrier in the US by far.

mbreuer

I don't know... has Cheney invited the Pope hunting yet?