US Airways' hostile takeover bid for Delta ran into a hostile audience Wednesday on Capitol Hill, where The Arizona Republic writes that CEO "Doug Parker was shellacked in a Senate hearing on airline mergers that turned into a US Airways/Delta showdown." The paper adds that the "the committee chairman joked at one point about keeping distance between the dueling CEOs on the panel." The Atlanta Journal Constitution went so far as to say the panel was "sympathetic" to Delta's stand-alone cause. "One senator after another expressed serious doubts about industry consolidation, saying they feared a loss of service to smaller markets. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who chairs the aviation subcommittee, even floated the possibility of imposing more regulations to boost service to small communities," the Journal-Constitution writes.
"The industry is far too changed and far too global for us to return to a completely regulated environment. However, I am becoming increasingly convinced that some regulation may become an option to make sure small communities are not harmed by consolidation," Rockefeller said. The committee's tone was also noted by the Republic, which says the group "fired questions and concerns at [US Airways'] Parker about promises of no layoffs, no problem handling more debt and no fare gouging; the merger's impact on smaller cities; the wisdom of doing a deal when his company is still digesting the America West/US Airways merger; the hostile nature of the deal; the overlapping routes; why, in fact, US Airways needs a merger if it is financially healthy and Delta is on the mend."
The paper also says the hearing "got testy a couple of times." Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., chimed in: "This merger causes me concerns, and I just want to get that on the record." USA TODAY writes that US Airways' Parker was "the only witness to support the deal, [saying] it would strengthen both carriers. He testified that strong network airlines ‘are the best hope for small communities' because discounters such as Southwest Airlines generally don't serve those airports."
Ouch
:down: :down: 
"The industry is far too changed and far too global for us to return to a completely regulated environment. However, I am becoming increasingly convinced that some regulation may become an option to make sure small communities are not harmed by consolidation," Rockefeller said. The committee's tone was also noted by the Republic, which says the group "fired questions and concerns at [US Airways'] Parker about promises of no layoffs, no problem handling more debt and no fare gouging; the merger's impact on smaller cities; the wisdom of doing a deal when his company is still digesting the America West/US Airways merger; the hostile nature of the deal; the overlapping routes; why, in fact, US Airways needs a merger if it is financially healthy and Delta is on the mend."
The paper also says the hearing "got testy a couple of times." Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., chimed in: "This merger causes me concerns, and I just want to get that on the record." USA TODAY writes that US Airways' Parker was "the only witness to support the deal, [saying] it would strengthen both carriers. He testified that strong network airlines ‘are the best hope for small communities' because discounters such as Southwest Airlines generally don't serve those airports."
Ouch
:down: :down: 
