Ok, I am going to call you out on this one.

Which two airlines have been focusing the most on a merger recently? Delta and Northwest. They have yet to merge and benefit from all the synergies a merger brings to the table. Yet which two passenger airlines made the most money last quarter? Delta and Northwest ($138 million and $170 million dollars, respectively). In fact, they were the only two legacy carriers to turn a profit. Is anyone getting on Anderson's and Steenland's case for focusing too much on merging? Of course not. So Delta and Northwest were the only two legacy carriers that were able to turn a profit with $140 a barrel oil. Wait until they actually merge and start benefiting from the synergies a merger brings to the table. I believe $2 Billion dollars a year is the amount in savings being thrown around right now. I think the name Super Delta will be fitting of their performance post merger.

So why are we on Tilton's case for focusing on a merger? If Tilton is able to successfully merge UAL, that is what he is going to be remembered for. It will be his greatest contribution to UAL and to the entire industry.

The airline industry is between a rock and a hard place. There is way too much cut throat competition. Fuel prices are out of control. And fares cannot be raised fast enough with the weak economy. One easy solution to eliminating competition without cutting too much capacity is to merge airlines. It also saves billions per year in overhead costs. Delta and Northwest figured it out. I am glad United is a big supporter of mergers. It will be great for this industry in the long run. And Tilton is the man to do it for UAL. Remember Tilton helped orchestrate the most successful merger ever in the oil industry between Chevron and Texaco.

UAL has been mismanaged. There is no disagreement there. But saying that Tilton focusing on a merger is a bad thing is completely wrong.