fit29

From a pure business standpoint, personal feelings aside; I think CAL would be crazy to merge with UAL, why not just let it die and buy the pieces that you want?.

United and US Air are 2 dinosaurs that need to rest in peace once and for all. For the last 10 years they have been drifting along, barely surviving, no future, no plans, nothing, just waiting for someone to buy them out, I'm sorry but "Lets sit on our behinds and wait for a merger!" is not a business plan. Can you imagine the "management genius" MBAs over at UAL plus the "talented" people running LCC combining? talk about match made in hell.

7576United

I see.

So as a seasoned veteran of the aviation industry, perhaps you can give us an approximate date of death for United and US Airways?

sailingfun

Just a point that would apply in any SLI agreement. AmWest and USair have a combined seniority list. It is in place and would the list worked off in a future merger. What they don't have is a joint contract. Absent a joint contract each side stays apart. If they were to merge with United they would use the arbitrated list in the integration with UAL. One of the first tenants of any seniority integration is no leap frogging. You don't go back and redo lists from prior mergers. If if they decided to merge DOH with UAL the USAIR list would be rationalized and a constructive DOH assigned each pilot before meshing the two lists. No change in relative position would occur between AmWest and USair pilots from the current seniority list.

mwa1

ual parted out between CAL and AMR. LCC to the tar pit

cubguy

Yea, another Crew Room CEO speaks from the right seat of an RJ.
What a pilot you must be to have it mastered to the point that you have had time to become qualified to run a major!

GW258

I nominate this post for one of the top 10 reasons in the future written history of why the profession as an Airline Pilot became what it is.

I don't know you, but assure you, that you are a substaintial part of the problem.

You must be angry because you didn't get what you were promised by Santa.

If there was ever an example of what happened to this profession, it's this person.

7576United

On the other hand, look at all a certain infamous Eagle f/o was able to accomplish at such a young age.

fit29

I'm not saying I can run UAL or LCC, just saying for the last 10 or maybe more years they have not done ANYTHING at all to improve their business model, look at CAL, DL, they have worked to improve and become profitable in the long run.

I am sorry, but I just dont see any future for UAL or LCC, today they are not profitable, have high debts, terrible labor relations, they are mortgaged up the ying yang and more than half their flights (domestic) are operated by regionals. And I am sorry but since the days of the previouse UAL-LCC attempted tie up they have done nothing.

I remember reading an article years ago about the days of Wolf running the airline and how their bussines plan was entirely deppendent upon the merger that never happened. 10 years later nothing has changed, they are still waiting for CAL or LCC or whoever to bail them out. The guys that work at UAL don't deserve this, but the airline has been run to the ground and is now a shell of its former self. How many more bankruptcies will UAL or US Air go through before enough is enough.

The point of my post is that CAL should learn from what happened to Cactus, and not get into the mess that is United or US Air today, stay independent and grow by themselves, I would hate to see another USAir -
america west type fiasco, especially for CAL who is probably the most profitable US legacy carrier these days, and in my opinion the most poised for success in the next decade.

7576United

So you think Wolfe was running United when the first UA/LCC merger was attempted in 2000?

Fishfreighter

Again, sailingfun, DoH is not a factor in either ALPA merger/frag or Allegheny/Mohawk. So DoH is NOT a consideration.

UAL/LCC would be and Allegheny/Mohawk SLI since LCC is not ALPA.