Originally Posted by
Slammer
Effectively flying our pre-merger orders that are not your metal. Gaining full access to our 737 pre-merger orders that continue and Captain seats, and the trade off is WB FO?
This is the "heart" of the issue clearly. It is the CAL sense of entitlement to these planes and seats. Newsflash: Those fleets and seats exist in a world of mega-carriers. They are NOT "yours". The case was made very dramatically that UAL could have and logically should have placed a large order for NB aircraft and Tilton is on record saying he wasn't going to screw up whatever future merger was coming by unilaterally ordering aircraft because it would be Airbus if it was USAirways and it would be Boeing if it was CAL. The DAL/NWA merger forever changed the industry. That's why Kellner quit; that's why Smisek took over and reengaged UAL in merger talks and thats why every single plane, seat, fleet, and base is part of "OUR" career expectations. Not YOURs not MINE, OURS - CAL and UAL and now just one big UAL. You for sure do not agree, but it will be up to the arbs to decide and me thinks your protestations of "It's mine! It's mine!" smack a tad too much of desperation and selfishness to be credible in the eyes of independent non-airline minds.
Testimony of Mo Garfinkle. 11 May, 2013
. . . . I was butting heads with Mr. Tilton, his view was very firmly -- United's view was very firmly, we're not ordering aircraft now. We have got to earn, and we want to see who our strategic partner is because that will determine what aircraft we need to order. If United merges with Airways, I would probably end up more of an Airbus customer. If United merges with Continental, I surely end up a Boeing customer.
And the mix of widebodies and narrowbodies and what carriers have on order, all of that -- you know, all of those issues are part of the thinking that went into, I'm going to wait to order my airplanes until my strategic partner is determined.