richarddd

If you took away pension contributions way above the level required by any private company, the requirement that it operate unprofitable rural post offices and removed other restrictions on operations, it would be much more profitable.

richarddd

A year ago we had experts saying "DOJ is likely to lose e-book antitrust suit targeting Apple" Look where we are today. Also notice that it's over a year since that complaint was filed.

tacostuff

I'm reading through the DOJ complaint, and it is utterly fascinating to see some of the inner workings of US (e.g., some of the internal e-mails). Douggie really has done/said some things that are going to come back to (hopefully) bite him in the rear:

I'm not sure I would classify more legroom as "stupid stuff"...

flight62

Well, if you all are giddy about the failure of this merger, you will be happy with the continual subpar inflight experience of the "go between" airline that is US Airways. NO IFE, NO powerports, NO quality food in FC. FC that resembles Denny's, everything on the cheap, NO extra legroom ala coach plus type of seating, ALL THE THINGS YOU PEOPLE HAVE WHINED AND COMPLAINED ABOUT WILL CONTINUE!! So when the dust settles, remember the moment when the plans were in the works to become a better airline with deep pockets to pay for such. SADLY, US will NOT spend a dime as a stand alone. They should but they won't.

Now US Airways will continue to be the redheaded Star sister, flown only as a convenience instead of the love for. In the end, my responses? You asked for it and I told you so.

In the end, I will do my best no matter which stylized American flag is on the tail.

PWMTrav

I still have some small exposure with options - I'm talking a few hundred bucks, just because I'm inexperienced with managing option volatility and wanted to learn. Figured LCC calls would be a fun way to do it. I'm closed out on AAMRQ, but I didn't buy that low, unfortunately. I think I netted about a buck a share.

Whether this merger goes through isn't entirely dependent on how other mergers worked. Antitrust is based on market analysis, so the first movers in the industry definitely had an advantage over US/AA. Going from 4 to 3 legacies in the market is going to be a harder obstacle to overcome than going from 8 to 7 or even 5 to 4.

I'm probably going to take the other side of the bet at this point, that the merger doesn't happen. I think AA needs to get out of bankruptcy fast, and an antitrust suit does not progress quickly. DOJ wants the merger blocked, not concessions, so we're talking a lot of time and legal fees to make it happen. I don't think it will.

FlyIgglesFly

There are ALWAYS going to be thing for us to complain about on here. US has never treated me poorly since starting to hover in the 50k/yr range. I've gotten acceptable reciprocal benefits on other *A carriers. Sure the times I've flown F on UA and AA have been better experiences, but I don't think I've had any of real substance to whine about while on US. Besides...I have an affinity for redheads anyway.

PWMTrav

Can someone post a link to the complaint? I can't find it.

EDIT: Nevermind. Link - http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f299900/299968.pdf

PWMTrav

One thing I'm going to miss is flying for free half the time. The merger meant AA was coming to PWM, so I could burn 9000 BA Avios RT to go to DCA or PHL. I could have literally flown those trips for free the entire year, thanks to the magic of Amex MR and Chase UR. Overall, the merger would have saved me money just based on that.

FlyIgglesFly

For me that's the only real downside. But one I'm willing to give up for the other things I would have lost.

Superguy

Everyone thought AT&T/T-Mobile was a done deal too. You had Deutsche Telekom who wanted out of the US cell business, a spectrum starved AT&T, and compatible systems that would have made integration relatively simple. Advantages were touted about even greater coverage, faster LTE rollout, "better prices", more devices, blah blah. It seemed like a win-win for everyone.

DoJ didn't buy it. While DoJ has allowed mergers in the past (Sprint-Nextel being one), the market conditions were a lot different now. You essentially have a duopoly between Verizon and AT&T taking nearly 70% of the US market, leaving Sprint and T-Mobile being "value" carriers and picking over the scraps. AT&T and T-Mobile would have concentrated too much power in too few companies, being ultimately bad for the customer. Things are bad enough in that industry as it is.

DoJ allowed T-Mobile and MetroPCS to merge, however, as that strengthened T-Mobile.

The airline industry isn't much different. You have 2 mega carriers (UA, DL), 2 relatively strong carriers (AA, WN), and some smaller players like US and B6. Unfortunately, UA and DL haven't done much to compete, but have generally been hostile to customers. Prices haven't gone down, but done the opposite. Fees have gone up too. There are fewer flights to fewer places. To average Joe traveler, the current air travel market isn't very good right now.

I would see DOJ approving something along the lines of a US/B6 merger. I don't see US/AA going thru. At least without major concessions that wipe away the "benefits" of the merger.

We've all heard the "it'll be good for customers/lower prices/synergies/blah blah" out of DL and UA. The cheerleading is always good, but rarely materializes. It's all a matter of BSing the gov't. It looks like DOJ isn't buying it this time.

That's far from a foregone conclusion. You don't think US would be affected by the AA/BA JV? Why go from getting squeezed in one alliance to another without a merger? You don't gain anything (you're still the little sister of the alliance) AND you have the costs of converting from *A to OW.

Parker's already stated that *A has worked well for US, and that's with the UA/LH/et al JV long in place.
Doesn't surprise me. He's been wanting to build an empire for quite awhile, and this is his best chance.

I'd prefer keeping US in *A and having access to UA for the times I need it.

Superguy

+1. Add to that that UA and CO had already been in talks about a merger, but decided not to do it at that time. However, it also was a precursor for it to happen down the road in a different market. So it made sense for CO to go to *A when potential merger partners were there.

If nothing else, it had more to gain by being a stronger second to UA in *A than being a dwarf compared to DL in ST.

MarcusWorth

I'm contributing this as a good overview and summary:

Justice Dept. Suit Signals End of Airline Consolidation, AA-US Airways Merger Said to Hurt Consumers

Superguy

1) True.

2) True, for the most part. Crews are hit and miss on any airline. However, my treatment as a US elite vs being a UA elite under Smisek has been significantly better - even as a silver. UA is openly hostile toward their elites. DM may not be as generous as MP (at least on paper), but the actual treatment is worlds apart. I do think AA would bring some improvements to the inflight experience though, and would be open to that. However, it's one of the few upsides I see to the merger.

3) True. I like DM for the most part. There are things I don't like (i.e. the few and limited use CP certs mainly), but overall it's not bad. I feel valued whether I'm a CP or a SP. I'm not seen as an over-entitled leech.

Even though US clubs don't have showers, usually its *A partners do. But even then, size doesn't guarantee showers. I just came into LAX on UA and neither club has showers.

austin_res

What makes you think AA/US merger would create a better airline? The DoJ document shows statements made by US management that they intend AA/US to be like US Airways - a continuation of US Airways "subpar inflight experience"

Superguy

You haven't been on UA in domestic F lately then, have you?

I can't say my last few meals have been tasty or high quality by any stretch of the imagination. A Denny's meal would have been a significant improvement over the slop I was served. And yes, I actually thought the US meal was actually better.

I do like the sundaes though.

I don't book an airline ticket expecting stellar dining. When I pay for C, I expect a decent meal, but I keep my expectations low to avoid disappointment. C meals are hit or miss. I've had some decent meals. I've had some really bad meals that I can't believe anyone in their right mind would serve a paying C customer. If you want good meals, you have to go to a foreign carrier.

Domestically, you generally only get power on the PMCO planes or new planes. You're lucky if you actually get a 757 or 320 that has Empower, which no one uses anymore.

IFE is nice, but isn't a be-all-end all. I bring my own entertainment. WN also does quite well without it. Most of what's shown on board is crap anyway.

So what, US being a red-headed step child of OW would be an improvement?

I can understand why crew would the merger to go thru. It's a significant pay raise for the US side.