PAX file suit to stop DAL/NWA merger!
 

I smell Carl's hand in this!:D

S.F. suit seeks to halt Delta-Northwest merger


Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, June 19, 2008

A group of passengers sued Wednesday in San Francisco to challenge the planned $17.7 billion merger of Delta and Northwest airlines, saying the resulting mega-carrier would raise prices, cut service and damage competition in an already-shrinking market.
Consumers will pay more for less airline service if the deal goes through, lawyers for the 28 passengers said in papers filed in U.S. District Court. The suit, which seeks an injunction against the companies, is the first in the nation to contest the merger, said attorney Joseph Alioto.
Northwest spokeswoman Tammy Lee called the lawsuit frivolous. She said the merger is "pro-competitive and pro-consumer, because our networks have little overlap," and the company is confident it will win Justice Department approval by the end of the year.
Delta did not respond to a request for comment.
Atlanta-based Delta, the nation's third-largest passenger airline, and Minnesota-based Northwest, the fifth-largest, announced an all-stock transaction in April that would create the nation's largest passenger airline. The merged company, called Delta, would be headed by Delta's chief executive, Richard Anderson.
In their announcement, the two companies said the merger would increase their ability to withstand volatile fuel prices and create a more resilient and efficient company in an industry that has eliminated more than 150,000 jobs since 2001.
The deal has been criticized, however, by two of Northwest's labor unions and by the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn. He said the merger was likely to hurt customers and could lead to further consolidations, and he urged the Justice Department's antitrust division to conduct a thorough review.
But Alioto said Congress has no power, and the Justice Department has no inclination, to prevent such combinations.
The suit relies on Section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act, which prohibits mergers and acquisitions that might substantially lessen competition. According to the legal filing, the merged airline would have 24 percent of the domestic market and would increase the combined market share of the four largest companies from 60 to 70 percent.
The merger will harm consumers "by charging higher prices, reducing the number of flights, eliminating air service to smaller communities, charging for services otherwise part of normal service, crowding more people into existing airplanes, and other anti-competitive and anti-consumer welfare practices,"' the suit alleges.

They are pathetic.:cool: Tickets are going to go up regardless at least this way the new DAL will be a stronger airline thus improving our worsening industry. Oil is up almost 100% in a year what do they think ticket prices will do?

Agreed. Maybe if they paid more for tickets starting a few years ago, the merger wouldn't be contemplated now. As far as not wanting ticket prices to go up, I feel the same way when I pump gas into my car or buy groceries. Its a fact of life. If the commodities you want cost more, you'll have to pay more to obtain it.

Anyone not having read Atlas Shrugged should do so. Replace the railroads with the airlines and you have a phenomenal story about what is happening to the country right now. Imagine if airlines went away. These people would then complain they have no ability to leave their towns.

I feel strongly that we should remove urinals from men's rooms everywhere in this country as I no longer find very many men anymore. They've all been replaced by a whiny "I can't do anything for myself or don't want to take any responsibility for my actions" breed that resembles a man but is most assuredly not a man.

I wonder if they realize how much ticket prices will increase if one of the legacy airlines goes under? who are they going to sue then? :confused:

Exactly, they need to start blaming those responsible for the rise in oil before they start suing the airlines. I guess i should sue walmart for charging more for their groceries!!:rolleyes:

Not to sound too legalistic, but they have no case whatsoever. There is no injury to any party yet, so the case is not ripe. You can't sue someone for what might happen in the future.

They also don't have any standing in the case. Only a party that has some kind of legal tie with the two companies may seek an injunction to stop the merger. Since neither company is required to fly any passenger in the future there is no tie. It will be thrown out with the quickness.

New K Now

Well said DAL.

These people really feel they are entitled to low fares. It is their right. It's even in the Constitution.....somewhere. The fact that their low fares were and are subsidized by the loss of airline employees' salaries and pensions is immaterial to the great unwashed and entitled.

I don't know how it happened, but an airline ticket became much like the personal computer. Even though the PC is a modern miracle of technology, consumers feel like they've been screwed if they spend more than $500 dollars for it. If they do spend more than $500, they have to lie about it because they know their buddies will say: "man did YOU get screwed." This same mentality rules today with airline passengers. The technological marvel and employee expertise that is modern air travel is seen as a rip-off if it costs more than about $200 bucks. I've never understood that mentality, but the marketplace is going to change that mentality.

Carl

Agreed. No standing + No tort + No injury = No Case.

Carl

I think we're all forgetting that this federal lawsuit was filed in San Fransico......home of the 9th circus court. What does the constitution have to do with anything out there? Law is made up as it goes. I don't think this will be over as quickly as we would like to think.

It happened because of the entitlement mentallity from the ME generation!:p
I hope the next generation is better than the last ,but I doubt it very much !




God How I hate the 21st century !