How are things at the old CCY? Last time I was there the executive suite on the 8th floor was a ghost town. Lot's of nice offices with private bathrooms, some even with showers. And then there was that awesome and pristine commercial kitchen with a 10 burner, 60" Wolf range and the sub zero refrigerator. if there ever was a "money is no object" executive suite for a bankrupt airline, that was definitely it.
What do either of those things have to do with the incontrovertible facts that the SEC filings from the new US Airways describe the transaction as a reverse acquisition where AWH was the acquiring company while the US Airways would be considered the surviving company? Even in the article you cited it references a meeting with Parker and Kirby walking away saying that unless US got their labor costs down to competitive rates, there would be no merger. So a proposal to merge was rebuffed by Parker until he believed the transaction made financial sense and could then be sold to the investment community. After labor costs were restructured in bankruptcy II per Parker's stipulation, then the talks were back on for a merger or a reverse acquisition of US by AWH. That's why the AWH shareholders became the single largest block of stockholders in the new LCC. That's why Parker, Kirby, Kerr, Eberwein, McClelland, Beery, Carreon, and most of HP officers continued in their executive roles at the new company while only a handful of US executives remained with the new company. Parker provided the experience, leadership, and also provided the confidence needed to get the investors to buy into the transaction. Take Parker and his team out of the equation and there would have been no merger. All other carriers and CEOs were waiting for a liquidation event to happen so they could pickup the valuable assets without taking on the unwanted parts of the airline.
