"WOW thats some powerful crack !"
Not powerful crack, its in the 8K, 10K and 10Q reports. CAL was heading into bankruptcy without this merger. Their bonds were trading at .60 on the dollar but, after the merger was announced, the bonds were paid off at par.
"CAL was the bankrupt carrier with parts hocked for credit?
Please, go ahead and make that argument to the mediators."
I dont know what arguments will be made but I am expecting to get hosed. Just hope CALs financial position is considered for "career expectaion" purposes.
CAL is a 2x chp participant in chp 11 and cant do it again. Ual had another bite at the apple. It would have been chp 7 for CAL.
The CAL pilots would be "...eking out a hand-to-mouth existence...." if it were not for this merger.
Smizek: "At Continental, although I am very proud of Continental, I thinkwe have done a very good job, candidly, Congressman, we are eking out a hand-to-mouth existence. And that is not a future that I want for my employees,...."
"Amazing to see how you guys went from constantly talking about how badly you wanted this merger to "your welcome" "
I think UAL wanted USAIR but then Smisek sought out UAL:
Mr. Smisek. Sure. Let me speak to that if I could. This
merger came together very quickly. We learned that United
Airlines, through pressure, of course, was in negotiations to merge with another carrier, and United was the right strategic partner for Continental. So we needed to move swiftly, and we did so over about a 3-week period. That swiftness was such that the processes for reaching agreements during collective bargaining agreements with our pilots or other work groups could not move that swiftly.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111hhrg57059/html/CHRG-111hhrg57059.htm
"Sometimes when you try to help a drowning man, you only get pulled under with him"
-Larry Kellner on walking away from the UAL merger