Ah, yes, Kev , the big picture. The one few around here seem to be capable of seeing. The one that wings doesn’t want anyone to see. The one that he has desperately tried to keep away from public view.
The big picture that started almost a decade ago when he jumped on the bandwagon with his boss and most everyone else at US who decided that they were going to “Make Delta my ####” in their failed takeover attempt.
And that wasn’t some former US management team, wings. It is the current one.
But Delta, like me, doesn’t keep score. They just have spent the past five years going after one US market after another and growing DL’s franchise regardless of who stood in the way.
Remember the CLT-SLC route that US thought they were going to launch? DL didn’t take US’ bluff and started the route while US caved. One more route for DL out of US’ most important hub.
US burned its bridges in PIT while DL walked in and started a route to Europe and then DL added LGA service to make it clear who really wanted the money of PIT airline passengers.
US has made one strategic blunder after another. DL just happened to be smart enough to walk through the doors that US thought they had boarded up.
And then 10 months ago when AMR entered BK, wings parroted the message of his boss that industry consolidation is needed and that a US merger was the best outcome for AA. Other than all the paid media and analysts-for-hire, no one with half a brain really believed that US could really do anything for AA given US’ decade long track record of wilting at the hands of its larger competitors – not the least of which has been Delta Air Lines.
So, it is no surprise that people like me knew that a takeover of AA would never solve US’ strategic problems – the ones his fearless leader has spoken about for a decade including that US can’t obtain fares on par with its larger competitors.
Regardless of whether US succeeds at a merger with AA, DL and every other competitor aren’t about to sit on the sidelines waiting for US to put AA back together again now that at least some AA employees seem dead set on destroying their airline even while trying to call it a statistical fluke – as if AA mgmt isn’t capable of reading the same threats those people have made for months about burning the place down.
DL recognized that breaking out from the crowd at LGA was necessary if it wanted “to win” in NYC so they fought for 2 years –longer than it takes to get approval for a merger – to get the LGA/DCA slot deal approved.
Did wings or parker really think that DL was going to sit by while US blew about becoming the largest airline on the east coast? DL focused its efforts on the largest market for just about every city on the east coast, specifically LGA.
Now as evidence begins to pour in that DL might have pulled off yet another strategic victory at US’ hands, the worst thing that wings wants to hear is that DL is winning at US’ expense – yet again. Add in that US’ handover of slots is allowing DL to win against other carriers and US' gains at DCA cannot possibly comprare to DL's in NYC and US’ strategic failure is even harder to defend.
wings has been trying to do everything possible for years to shut me down and prevent me from shining the glaring light of truth on the airline and management team that he for some strange reason still has loyalties.
It is REALLY only about the content, the facts, and the strategy. All the personal attacks are merely window dressing that wings is trying to use to cover up the fact that US probably just handed DL the gun to use to finish US off once and for all and wasn’t smart enough to figure that out.
This industry is all one high stakes chest game that I love to watch play out. Maybe it's all those soccer games I go to, Kev, that keep my competitive juices flowing. No, I am not going anywhere.
I’ll be here to post every bloody detail about how the ongoing competitive battle between US and DL esp. as a result of the slot swap.
THAT big picture.
Don't let wings or anyone else try to convince you there is any other picture in this industry or that I care about.
