Today? He's not trying too hard then. My friend bought a ticket out of BOS yesterday and her plane left on time and landed on time. Something tells me there was probably a way out of there she said it was actually very calm yesterday.

There was the LVHM Prelude to the Olympics party last night that was cosponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal at the Foundation Louis Vuitton as I’m sure Ed attended the party seeing Delta ads during the opening ceremony today. Ed was socializing with Snoop Dog for a new “premium” cabin scent, Spike Lee for “premium” IFE, and Pharrell Williams who is discussing the new “premium” Delta One cabin as the creative director.

[QUOTE=Longboater;36406406]I am sure things would have been all hunky dory if a few of the Big Six went under. Wonder how many tens of thousands of jobs would have been lost and not readily replaced? NW was not viable long-term with its very old narrowbody domestic fleet and the merger with Delta, along with acquiring used MD-90/717s and last of the line 737-900ERs, was able to keep MSP/DTW. MEM was finished as a hub regardless. Sure CO had EWR/IAH, but CLE was a money loser for years and UA was not the same carrier as it was and never would be again. Even with Smisek screwing up the merger from the moment it was announced, UA is in great shape now. As I said, AA got stuck with the worst merger partner in US, which alone was saved from Chapter 7 with HP taking over the airline, given bad decisions going back to 9/11. Now AA is stuck in neutral and can't figure out their revenue and cost problems. There's a distinct possibility they have lose money this year.

It isn't the job of the DOJ to make sure private companies, like airlines are always profitable. This current DOJ recognizes this. The job of the DOJ is to make sure there is competition and protection for the consumers. If one of the Big 6 would have gone under another airline would have stepped in. The consumer would have been just fine. If AA loses money this year they need to make changes or cut what is not profitable. It is not the taxpayers or consumers problem.

The CEO of NK shot down bankruptcy talk last month but we all know where this is headed. (Check out their stock price.) There's just no way they can keep losing money for years now without Chapter 11 restructuring. It was a blessing in disguise for B6 not to have acquired NK as that smelt too much of Pan Am-National, which was the primary catalyst for dooming Pan Am. If DOJ blocks HAL-AS like they did with NK-B6, HAL will go under. They have gotten hit with every single headwind imaginable with the Pandemic, Hawai'i having the slowest recovery of any state, the slowest re-opening of international travel to their pre-Pandemic international stations, the Maui fires, the incredibly weak Yen, and the entry of Southwest into the inter-island market, which has trashed yields for both airlines. (Data strongly implies WN is losing money interisland.) AS acquiring them is the only viable path for HAL to stick around long-term as a wholly owned subsidiary otherwise, unless they sell themselves to the state of Hawai'i, they are finished. (I am sure a government-owned airline in the US will do SO well....)

The airlines might as well be government owned with the amount of bail out money they were given in past years and the support consumers have given them with mergers. JetBlue and Spirt are BOTH still here, they are making changes finally, but they did not need a merger. If Hawaiian went under, as you speculate, then Southwest is already there to increase inter island flights as demand warrants. If Spirit went bankrupt then the market will move on as demand and the consumer warrant. Airlines aren't guaranteed to always make a profit.

Vote with your wallet and refuse to fly them ever again. That is the consumer choice. It's not like Delta is Aeroflot, except for the previous livery.

That is easier said than done. With mergers there is very little difference now between airlines and it is not easy for consumers to just vote with their wallets, especially in certain markets.

Given Delta's finances and operations prior to last Friday, Ed and his team have done an excellent job running the airline. (I am sure this will go over well with those who frequently comment on this forum.) They were able to turn a profit for the full year of 2021. Delta's revenues have grown substantially in the past five years, even with the pandemic.

Ed has been an awful CEO and is among the worst in recent history. He is a poor "leader," and we need the DOJ to fine the salary and benefits of CEOs directly when these meltdowns happen. It is awful to read the stories how poorly Delta has treated paying consumers these past few weeks, that comes from a leadership and cultural problem at Delta.