No one pays cash for these things. Any merger/acquisition would be a stock deal.

I really don't care about CO leaving. I found DL to have a better international product, I don't get upgrades on CO, the 50% MQM on cheap tickets sucks, and DL/NW will cover most of CO's ground. Sure it is a great airline, but as a DL FF, it doesn't effect me too much.

Continental is a Sly Fox to watch
 

"CASHFLOW" does NOT necessarily mean Cash as in common greenback currency.

In its most simple terms, it is the pattern of receipts (accounts receivable, for example) versus expenditures (accounts payable), resulting in the availability or nonavailabilty of cash and other transferable financial assets, such as stock).

While Air Canada is seeking a buyer, WestJet does NOT have financial resources nor the strength of sufficient backers to make the purchase.
Neither does United.

Further, while Continental IS somewhat interested in several of Air Canada's lucrative trans-Canada routings, it has its eye fixed more on the INTERNATIONAL side of travel, (particularly trans-Pacific and European expansion) than anything domestic North American.

no funny money wanted
 

Never intended for you to think in terms of greenbacks, loonies or euros
now maybe gold bullion bars ... :D j/k

CO to Star - Mixed Blessing
 

As a long time Continental/SkyTeam customer I have to say that I really have mixed feelings about this United plan. I am really going to miss Air France/KLM as a partner. On the other hand, the NW/DL merger really gave them no choice. Continental would really be the odd man out if they stayed. A merger/alliance with AA and Oneworld really wouldn't work either with such a stong network in Texas and competition in New York.

The thing about STAR is that who wants to fly United or US Airways? Not me! They both seem like another bankruptcy is inevitable. US Airways hasn't even intergrated the America West piolts into its senority system. Doesn't that sound smart??? Delta and Northwest both seemed cleaner and more stable then their STAR counterparts. Oh well, if anything Continental will benefit from being the best of the lot and get a huge boost from their EWR connections as they will be the only strong STAR player in the NYC market. Oneworld is really screwed since AA will still be the single player in the market. It is nice to be able to fly the route/schedule I want on mutliple carriers and still earn OnePass miles.

You should check out this article from USA Today that explains the advantage Continental will get by joining STAR.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/colum...alliance_N.htm

That is exactly my case. I'm with Czech Airlines OK Plus and in the process of booking a flight for late April/early May 2009. The choice is between CO and DL, the price is almost identical and since I am cheap and mileage whore I'd go with CO if they are still in SkyTeam. I got the impression from reading various forums that CO's long-haul product is slightly better than DL's (even though I hate the 3-3-3 configuration on 777s).
Should I risk and bank on the assumption that the CO will be still in Sky Team? :confused: :(

I actually think the exact opposite. CO's 767s are okay, but nothing special. And watch out for the 757, which is pretty miserable. Aside from the lack of personal TVs on the 763, I think DL has a better product.

Of course, the best TATL SkyTeam product (in coach) is an NW A330, so if that fit your needs, it might be worth a look.

I rode CO for years but Delta has really improved their Domestic product to the point that it is a better airline bots domesticly and internationaly, except for the LAX to Hawaii route.

I still fly Continental a lot to Houston and to other texas connections. I'm hoping Delta adds some flights from the West Coast to Houston as it is an important business flyer route. CO flies a dozen or so non stops daily between LAX and IAH and every one of them is full and the ticket is expensive. Flying through SLC or ATL isn't convienient and adds hours to your travel time, same willl be true with MEM.

Sounds interesting, thanks for the recommendation. I haven't flown a US-based airline accross the Atlantic since late 1990s so if I could find an itinerary with a intra-US segment served by NW DC9 I'd probably go for it... ^

Along those lines, a friend mentioned that the idea of a UA/US merger or tie-up was also being discussed again. Any truth to that? Why would UA tie up w/CO if they're entertaining any thought of absorbing US?

IIRC, KL flys the same config as well...seem to remember being on one IAD-AMS a couple years ago.

There's nothing wrong with holding parallel negotiations. I doubt both UA and US will be around within a year or two. I think CO crossed over to STAR with the hunch that CO will eventually be the predominant or only US-based STAR member.

For me, it's fine -- my main interest is in premium-cabin Pacific awards, and ST is terrible on that front, while STAR is great.

Are there any dates whereby flying CO will no longer land me MQM's and miles to my Delta Skymiles balance? I am considering a flight in January, 2009, but don't want to get stuck with no miles....

It's going to be mid-2009 at the very earliest, and probably later. I wouldn't worry about January at all.

This is pretty bad for me, since I fly CO almost as much as I fly DL. I love their SEA -> EWR direct flight. Keeps me off the expensive SEA -> PHL on US.