Originally Posted by
Deez340
No problem. A couple of corrections though. I believe ATL has been the "busiest airport" for a few years now by any metric, not just departures, and DAL has China authority out of ATL as well. I think it's to be a 777lr run. While my hopes are admittedly and blatantly self-interested, I hope management's statements that any consolidation would only occur with Delta as the buyer, headquartered in ATL, and be called Delta turn out to be accurate.
I believe you are right about both metrics, my point was size of airport and two large legacy carriers operating side-by-side. It would not surprise me to see the same at ATL, not including Air Tran. Perhaps LUV will sneak in when gates are released as a condition of approval from the DOJ. After all, it is the busiest airport and lots of money to be made. Especially if they can capture only a small portion of the business traveler. They are moving more and more in that direction.
It will be interesting to see if R. Anderson holds to his promise with regard to DAL being the acquirer, keeps the name Delta Air Lines and is HQ in ATL. That was his promise to several state reps. in GA especially Isakson. He stated unequivocally that DAL would remain in ATL and also be named Delta Air Lines. Isakson went so far as to ask RA to look him in the eye and tell him.
Found all this info on the net. All there for anyone to read. Keep the above in mind, may be telling of what kind of character RA exhibits, especially since DALPA wants contract improvements and equity as part of their approval for the "right" transaction. I believe any transaction that puts money in their pockets, especially the more senior folks, will be the "right" transaction.
Good luck to all of you, NWA and DAL. It will be interesting watching from the sidelines. I am going to keep track of things said and promises made. Lets see how this plays out and who kept their word.