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DELTA to merge in 2008

Old 01-02-2008, 10:23 AM
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Default DELTA to merge in 2008

http://biz.yahoo.com/bizwk/080102/de...5447.html?.v=1

Move over, Nostradamus. When it comes to prognostications, we here at BusinessWeek take a backseat to no one -- especially when there's zero money on the line.

BusinessWeek writers and editors put our eggnog-addled minds together and envisaged 10 events we're pretty sure will come to pass in the next 12 months. Maybe it's our natural tendency to see the cloud around every silver lining, but we can't help but think some of the notable "movements" of 2007 -- full-blare touting of corporate green credentials and social networks, to name two -- will run their course in 2008. Oil bulls will have their way. Airlines will lie down together in green meadows. You get the picture.

Airline Consolidation Begins

At least one major U.S. airline will buy another in 2008. The most likely scenario is that Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL - News) will go after Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA - News), United Airlines (NasdaqGS:UAUA - News), or JetBlue Airways (NasdaqGS:JBLU - News). When that happens, others will scramble to cut their own deals. Certainly, no airline wants to be left stranded as a solo operator if Clinton or Obama ends up in the White House and taps the brakes on industry consolidation. The main drivers for such combinations will be the shabby finances many companies will see in 2008 and the argument that the U.S. economy and business require a healthier industry. What's more, airlines that restructured in bankruptcy have some new private equity and hedge fund owners that will demand returns.
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Old 01-03-2008, 07:10 AM
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Look for a Feb or March announcement. It may be later, but I think that it is going down that road too. Way to quiet on Virginia Ave. Too many people have signed non-disclosure agreements.
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Old 01-03-2008, 07:25 AM
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MERGERS - Not going to happen.
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Old 01-03-2008, 07:30 AM
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Originally Posted by acl65pilot View Post
Look for a Feb or March announcement. It may be later, but I think that it is going down that road too. Way to quiet on Virginia Ave. Too many people have signed non-disclosure agreements.
It is quiet because of the Holidays.... All of mgt is in the Caymans while we work!

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/70964fe6-b...0779fd2ac.html

Despite spiking oil prices, the source said he believed the airline industry is coping well, effectively filling seats and charging relatively high prices. He questioned whether it would make sense to disrupt the hot market with a merger only to worry about who would run the new entity, where it would be located, and how the pilot lists would be melded. “I’m betting against [consolidation]” the source said, although he conceded that the upcoming change of administration would likely propel a high sense of urgency and could spur some movements toward consolidation.
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Old 01-03-2008, 07:56 AM
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No offense ACL65, but employees are the absolute last to know about a merger....and you haven't been around here long enough to know when things look "too quiet" around VA Ave.

Someone might get the right month/company correct but it will be a speculative guess.
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Old 01-03-2008, 08:00 AM
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Here no, but I do have a lot of friends that have. I would never use my thoughts to come to any conclusions. I am not smart enough for that. All I know is that a lot of people that are in the know are starting to get edgy. It may mean nothing, but they seem to think not.
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Old 01-03-2008, 08:05 AM
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Age 65 and a merger are definately not good news for new hires.
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Old 01-03-2008, 08:09 AM
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Originally Posted by EDC757 View Post
MERGERS - Not going to happen.
Kind of like Age 65??
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Old 01-03-2008, 09:16 AM
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Age 65 is not a big deal here at Delta...yet. We already had a huge wave of retirements during and prior to our bankruptcy. There were no meaningful retirement numbers planned for the next 5 years anyway.

Any positive movement here at Delta for the next decade will have to come from growth. Fortunately that is exactly what is happening right now and will hopefully continue to happen at least through 2010. The new hires right now should be able to position themselves very well and be in a nice seat whenever the inevitable stagnation begins.

A merger, of course, would complicate matters but in most cases would combine us with a carrier that has more planned retirements than we do...which can be viewed as a positive.

There is, however, no predicting how things will ultimately play out anyway, or if you'll even be healthy enough to fly to 65. For that matter, there's no point in worrying about the myriad of things in this business that are completely out of our control either...at least thats been my philosophy of late!

Meanwhile I'm just enjoying the beer in Frankfurt and having a ton of time off!

Sure beats being furloughed.
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Old 01-03-2008, 11:27 AM
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Originally Posted by EDC757 View Post
MERGERS - Not going to happen.
Sure, and PANAM & Eastern will never go out of business
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