UAL777fan,
I'm not so sure. UA has a very strong brand and identity throughout the world. But, of the 3 obvious merger partners for UA (CO, DL, US), CO and DL both have built very strong brands in Europe and Latin America. So I don't think it's necessarily a certainty that if UA were to merge with either of those two carriers that the UA name would remain. As for US, I think clearly UA has a stronger brand and the UA name would remain. And I honestly can't envision a scenario where UA merges and their senior management becomes the surviving leadership. I think it's well-known throughout Wall Street and the industry how incompetent UA's senior leadership team is in truly turning UA into a leaner, meaner airline. It's amazing. They have arguably the best global network of any airline, and, in most cases, among the best customer service. And their Mileage Plus program is top notch. Unfortunately, beyond that, Tilton and his team seem more focused on merging the company and cashing out than they do in turning UA around. Like it or not, they wasted 3 years in bankruptcy. They picked all of the low hanging, obvious fruit. They took the easy way out and pulled muscles in their necks patting themselves on the back for it. Unfortunately, they left alot of bloated infrastructure and inefficiency on the table, which is an inexcusable waste. They are sitting on a huge horde of cash that promises to get higher if/when they spin off Mileage Plus and UA Services. But other than that, are they really that much better positioned for the long-term future than carriers like AA or CO, who didn't have to file for bankruptcy protection?
The BEST outcome for all UA employees is to get rid of the management team that is currently in place. Until someone is truly interested in running the airline successfully as their first priority, instead of enriching themselves further with a merger, nothing of substance is going to change for the better at United.
And the amount of carve-outs that are required in any merger is going to depend on who the merger partner is. I'm not so sure there would be such large cuts required. If there isn't much overlap, you're talking about basically reducing some point to point frequencies in common markets and divesting some gates and slots. Not that big of a deal. UA's franchise has extreme value to almost any carrier. But not everyone is willing to do the heavy pruning in a merger with UA that Tilton and his gang should have dealt with during their 3 year stay in bankruptcy. That, to me, presents the big sticking point for UA merging with anyone.
I'm not so sure. UA has a very strong brand and identity throughout the world. But, of the 3 obvious merger partners for UA (CO, DL, US), CO and DL both have built very strong brands in Europe and Latin America. So I don't think it's necessarily a certainty that if UA were to merge with either of those two carriers that the UA name would remain. As for US, I think clearly UA has a stronger brand and the UA name would remain. And I honestly can't envision a scenario where UA merges and their senior management becomes the surviving leadership. I think it's well-known throughout Wall Street and the industry how incompetent UA's senior leadership team is in truly turning UA into a leaner, meaner airline. It's amazing. They have arguably the best global network of any airline, and, in most cases, among the best customer service. And their Mileage Plus program is top notch. Unfortunately, beyond that, Tilton and his team seem more focused on merging the company and cashing out than they do in turning UA around. Like it or not, they wasted 3 years in bankruptcy. They picked all of the low hanging, obvious fruit. They took the easy way out and pulled muscles in their necks patting themselves on the back for it. Unfortunately, they left alot of bloated infrastructure and inefficiency on the table, which is an inexcusable waste. They are sitting on a huge horde of cash that promises to get higher if/when they spin off Mileage Plus and UA Services. But other than that, are they really that much better positioned for the long-term future than carriers like AA or CO, who didn't have to file for bankruptcy protection?
The BEST outcome for all UA employees is to get rid of the management team that is currently in place. Until someone is truly interested in running the airline successfully as their first priority, instead of enriching themselves further with a merger, nothing of substance is going to change for the better at United.
And the amount of carve-outs that are required in any merger is going to depend on who the merger partner is. I'm not so sure there would be such large cuts required. If there isn't much overlap, you're talking about basically reducing some point to point frequencies in common markets and divesting some gates and slots. Not that big of a deal. UA's franchise has extreme value to almost any carrier. But not everyone is willing to do the heavy pruning in a merger with UA that Tilton and his gang should have dealt with during their 3 year stay in bankruptcy. That, to me, presents the big sticking point for UA merging with anyone.
