FlyingKat

Oh Really?

"In its review of the $11 billion deal, the Government Accountability Office wrote that changing business conditions could compel the combined air carrier to shift hub operations from Charlotte to Miami and other airports."

“The combined airline could be expected to rationalize its network over time,” the GAO wrote in testimony submitted to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, “including where it maintains hubs.”

"As an example of how the merged airline could consolidate its operations, the GAO wrote that New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport could take over Philadelphia’s international gateway, while Miami could take over Charlotte’s. Miami International Airport is already American’s gateway to Latin America, and the GAO added that 59 out of 116 domestic airports served by US Airways from Charlotte are also served by American from Miami.

“Miami could be a better hub than Charlotte in the Southeast,” the GAO said."
"The GAO found that the merger would reduce competition on more than 1,600 routes traveled by more than 53 million passengers.
That’s a greater loss of competition than occurred with the 2010 merger of United Airlines and Continental Airlines, the GAO found."

Source:
GAO: Charlotte hub not guaranteed in airline merger | CharlotteObserver.com

"Initially, the deal will remove no capacity from the system because Delta and Northwest currently have very little overlap in their routes."

"The deal will combine Delta's strong Atlanta hub and its trans-Atlantic route network with Northwest's extensive Asian presence, including a hub in Tokyo. There will be no hub closures, Delta said."

Source:
UPDATE 3-Delta, Northwest to create largest airline | Reuters

Cincinnati a dying area? Try again. The airport is in Northern Kentucky and the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area is one of the fastest growing areas in the country.

"Southern Business & Development magazine recently named Northern Kentucky the 2013 Mid-Market of the Year in the South in its “Top Deals and Hot Markets” feature. The rankings were based on the number of companies investing in and bringing jobs to each mid-market."

Source:
Northern Kentucky gets recognition for explosive growth - Cincinnati Business Courier

And then there's this little gem:

A Web site that the airlines established to promote the merger, newglobalairline.com, lists both the Toledo-Cincinnati and Toledo-Detroit routes as continuing to operate and promises that the Cincinnati hub "continues to be a vital part of the merged network."

Source:
Merger approved by Delta, Northwest - Toledo Blade

People who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. Just replace Anderson with Parker, and Charlotte with Cincinnati and its deja vu all over again. The only truly neutral entity to review this (the GAO) has said hubs will likely be closed and service decreased. It's mergers and acquisitions 101. You swallow the competition, get rid of duplication, and increase your profits. Just like Anderson at Delta, Parker will tell you, me, and everybody else whatever he needs to get this deal done. Then he will go through and make business decisions to increase the bottom line, which will include service reductions. Look at every statement he makes, he leaves plenty of wiggle room so he can say later he made no guarantees. Unfortunately for Mr. Parker, these government officials have already been stung by Mr. Anderson and Delta, and they don't believe a word he says, and may force him to make agreements in a settlement that will make this merger untenable.

FlyingKat

Obviously the Texas Attorney General was worried about it because he got an agreement to keep service. Not saying they will reduce to DFW, but some of the mid market cities (such as AUS for example) may lose service to CLT or other hubs.

R57 relay

The GAO report quotes are fascinating. With that logic they probably think the Obama care wesite is doing great. MIA cannot replace CLT as a real Southeastern hub. It could replace it's routes south of Miami, but it would not be effective as a hub for most cities north of there, from cities north of there of which the CLT hub is mostly made up of. Parker has covered this already. CLT is a much stronger hub than CVG.

For example. AVL-MIA-BOS would be really competitive with AVL-ATL-BOS.

The PHL example make more sense, but would JFK handle all the connecting service that PHL has?

CamYZ125

USAPA has finally done something, becoming "friends of the court" in support of the airlines.

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2...ays-case.html/