CallawayGolf
Veteran
- Nov 13, 2009
- 1,920
- 1,961
I thought I was more clear that I was talking about the mergers and consolidations of the post 9/11 era. So yes mergers occurred long before Parker, but rarely in the context of "consolidation" and "capacity constraint" that Doug was championing even before he joined AWA. Up to that time it seems to me that most mergers and acquisitions were about growth and expanding marketshare. Doug's goal was to reduce capacity so that a more rational pricing strategy could be achieved with fewer carriers providing fewer seats rather than a big airline getting bigger but still chasing after too few customers with too many seat choices at prices below cost.Since airline mergers have been happening for 80 or so years, it's hard to believe that Doug was the champion of such things before anyone else...
While Parker isn't the worst airline CEO that ever existed, he doesn't walk on water without getting his feet wet either...
For instance, his insistence on a cost neutral pilot contract for nearly 1.5 years was a mistake. If not for that, it's entirely possible that a joint contract could have been ratified before the Nic award came out and the last nearly 5 years of seniority battles wouldn't have happened. So he played as much a role in that as anyone.
Jim
Nope, Doug doesn't walk on water and he is just as apt to make a bad decision as any other "good" airline CEO. Each situation is unique and there are still few if any examples of a smaller airline CEO acquiring a near-liquidated airline that was 3-4 times its size in terms of revenue and then navigating that combined airline through the oil price spikes of 2008 and the worst economy in most of our lifetimes. No other airline CEO can put those kinds of stories on his resume.
Those are some pretty big "ifs" regarding getting a contract agreement before the NIC came out. Would the Kirby proposal have been enough over the cost-neutral stance? If not, how much more would have been required? Do you actually think that anyone would have predicted a protracted 7-10 year battle over seniority infighting between the pilot groups and that binding arbitration would not have settled the matter by now? Still, if Doug had put the Kirby out in 2006 or even an "industry-standard" contract out to prevent opposition to the NIC from gaining a foothold, do you think LCC would have avoided chapter 11 or chapter 7 with those kinds of cost increased when oil prices went to $140bb? With banks and investors taking an iron grip on money during that time, it seems altogether probable that LCC would have skipped chapter 11 and went to chapter 7 if pilot and FA wages were 20-40% higher during that period. So, which is better, survive to fight another day with labor groups still toiling for a better contract, or giving the groups a better contract only to liquidate the company two years later?