NMB: Delta did not interfere with union vote

[Dignity]

“It’s been my view all along that Delta has just been saying that they’re going to maintain all hubs because they want approval of the merger. But once it’s all done, they’ll revisit that and say, you know what, economic conditions force us to rethink that.â€￾

when viewing the route maps there is virtually minimal overlap of routes between the two combined airlines,
if they were to de-hub a city completely(that is currently offering service) the impact of that closure not only effecting employees but it would also *eliminate* air service that is currently offered to many smaller communities.

each hub throughout the system offers service to a unique part of the country, each region has a hub.
the West, the Midwest, East coast and the South(with the combined airline). with minimal overlap and a hub closure would result in maximum revenue forfeiture, reducing duplicate flights served on a particular route may be cost effective, reducing and eliminating flights on solely served routes(pre merger routes) only enables the competition the opportunity to seize revenue potential(and they would..).

however, when you look what is mentioned regarding closure, it may imply they will not close a hub, but they also do not define what else may happen.. maybe they will shift planes to another hub in the west? maybe they will use one hub as a reliever(close proximity to another hub, as there is only so much capacity one airport can absorb) and one hub focus on domestic connections while the other focus on international? maybe one hub will shift from more mainline focus to more regional or vice/versa? while my personal opinion is they will not fully close any hubs, more than likely how the operations are utilized today will change to accommodate more of an international presence(through all hubs to one degree to another) since the whole point to create and maintain routes that ultimately establishes "global presence" as the world largest airline(post merger)... how it will ultimately be determined...time will tell.

 

[FWAAA]

Dignity, you can be certain that the combined DL/NW will not operate hubs at each of LAX, SLC, MSP, DTW, CVG, ATL and JFK for long. Connections at CVG can be made at DTW or ATL and they will. MEM? ATL. Maybe others will convert from connecting hubs to cities with several nonstops, timed for optimal O&D instead of for connections. Revenue forfeiture? So what? It's not about maximum revenue - it's about hubs that produce max profits (or minimum losses). My prediction is that things change rapidly after the merger is complete.

 

[Dignity]

Dignity, you can be certain that the combined DL/NW will not operate hubs at each of LAX, SLC, MSP, DTW, CVG, ATL and JFK for long. Connections at CVG can be made at DTW or ATL and they will. MEM? ATL. Maybe others will convert from connecting hubs to cities with several nonstops, timed for optimal O&D instead of for connections. Revenue forfeiture? So what? It's not about maximum revenue - it's about hubs that produce max profits (or minimum losses). My prediction is that things change rapidly after the merger is complete.

I do not necessarily view two hubs that are relatively close together as two separate airports rather than one large combined opportunity to enable and offer a lot of service, maintaining a lot of jobs, and bringing in a lot of revenue/enabling connections covering a specific geographical area.


a lot of what you propose depends on the aircraft remaining in the fleet going forward, combined with the 787 to come online probably now at this point very late 2009 or 2010(and other deliveries)...

with very little overlap of routes(with the combined airline) there is much potential for growth.

I do agree with your comment that "things will change", they should right size markets and utilize aircraft to where it makes the most sense. the announcement of moving Saabs to ATL allows cities continued service or maintaining existing service(it is already changing). But I do not feel they will close hubs(regarding complete closure) keeping in mind the immense loyalty of the frequent flyers on these flights in and out the hubs because it is huge.
the closure of one hub may actually eliminate *all* air service to a community/city, these are just a few issues that must be considered. how is the merger going to be beneficial to those people(in smaller communities) in that regard? those communties rely on air service just as well as a larger city(moreso probably being the only service available)

My prediction would be to utilize DC9/Ejets out of ATL to some cities served solely by 50 seat regional jets(pre/post certification), freeing up slots in order to expand into new markets since an airport can only withstand so much capacity at one time, while focusing on new international growth opportunites. Shifting aircraft such as an airbus base at SLC, a MD88/90 base at MSP, 737 at DTW..restoring Asia service at JFK, focusing the West Coast as a main focus to International markets(as well as all hubs) while building up the links to each hub to complete the system. maintaining service levels (or renew commitment to quality customer service) allowing access to cities the frequent flyers depend on for business purposes and communities rely for adequate air service. I believe it will change(the airline will look different combined as opposed to seperate operations moving aircraft around because they have more options merged) in a way that ultimately is positive for communities/customers and employees.

I try to stay positively focused(while keeping a realistic outlook)

however...time will tell.

Have a great day!