Congrats to Midwest, your a unique airline.
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/busine...YWZV&urcm=y
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/busine...YWZV&urcm=y
QA4Jet-A
Veteran
I doubt this is over yet, Chocolate Chip Cookies or not. Reminds me of a game of chess.... Stay Unique and possibly be swallowed, cookies and all, or lose the Ego, grow some cajones, mate up and remain alive. Time will tell..... B)
- Thread Starter
- #3
Spoken like a true capitalist. I would argue that Midwest has done quite well with its current network structure. Make no mistake, Airtran needs this hostile takeover more than Midwest needs Airtran. Airtran desperately wants/needs a central hub near Chi-town. Where else are they gonna fly all those 717's and 737's they'll soon be receiving. They've picked all the low-hanging fruit from ATL. Never mind the fact that the big D is about to come out of bankruptcy a much leaner competitor. Its a well-known fact that DAL COO Jim Whitehurst despises Airtran and will come out swinging. Hold on to your seats folks, its showtime!!!
Every analyst has their own opinion, this one is no different.
Maybe if Airtran keep asking then Midwest might just say yes.
Only thing I ask Midwest is don't merge until I get a chance to fly on them.
Maybe if Airtran keep asking then Midwest might just say yes.
Only thing I ask Midwest is don't merge until I get a chance to fly on them.
As I've stated before, I'm against the takeover. We've deferred many new deliveries. And seeing how these talks have been going on for 3 years, there is no hurry to complete this, or any other deal. IIRC, it was you that seemed confounded by another extension of the "deadline". It's no secret that AirTran wants MKE as a hub. Acquiring Midwest is not the only way to accomplish this. If our management is deadset on having MKE, I believe we have the resources to compete with Midwest at their hub. I think it's possible that our management is making offer, after offer, after offer, etc. so that after all offers have been rejected and the battle begins, we can say we tried, repeatedly, to do it the nice way (ironically, with a "hostile" takeover). I believe they're a great airline, and competition would improve us both.
Many past Delta execs have despised AirTran and have "come out swinging" at different things, real and imaginary. Delta quit being Delta when they quit doing what they did better than any other airline - treat their customers AND EMPLOYEES with respect, generating loyalty amongst both groups. They chose to run their company based on what other airlines did, instead of sticking with the best business model in the industry. They told their employees that in order to stay financially healthy after the terrorist attacks, they needed labor to take paycuts, while lining their own pockets. The "top talent" in management that these cuts were supposed to keep is long gone. Your typical customer wants to get from A to B, with their bags, on time, treated with courtesy. Delta can come out of bankruptcy despising and swinging all they want. But if they don't focus on the customer, the results this time won't be any different from the last. It's not my seat I'd be worried about.
QA4Jet-A
Veteran
Capitalist? Or Opportunist? In any case, I disagree about Midwest doing so well. Yes, they finally made a few $$$ lately and it's about time. Not to many haven't, even your own beloved Delta. If you compare FL and YZ or whatever their code is since post 9/11, my bet is FL has been better. Desperation for a Midwest hub sounds a bit of a stretch but yes, I believe they'd like to persue Market share there. As for who needs who the most, I could care less as, I believe a combination would make the best of things, for both Air carriers, going forward. I almost have to laugh reading the A.netters message boards about how FL will screw Milwaukee, lay everyone off. If FL makes it a Hub, I think they'd need the people to operate it. I don't think Disney or Steven Spielburg have created the perfect CSR Robot to work flights yet. Your comment on Fleet types coming is amusing, try to remember, Boeing closed Long beach and shut down the B-717 production line over a year ago. Yes, they have deferred delivery on the 37s for a while, but that makes sense. Like CJ says, Delta has thrown curve balls one after the other at FL but FL has done their batting practice. I find it ironic that your thoughts are so pro Midwest. Perhaps you should work for them, maybe you'll even enjoy a chocolate chip cookie, or is "Swinging Jim" gonna get ya some freebies to compensate for what you took in the shorts to get out of BK? Of course these comments are in no way a statement for FL or informative in what FL plans to do. I have no knowledge of any information and my comments are my own opinions.
QA
QA4Jet-A
Veteran
Correction: Long Beach delivered the last two B-717s on May 23, 2006. One to Midwest and the other to AirTran.
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