Who wants a merger with US?

[gaucho99]

Did the pilots and flight attendants at US Airways agree to giving up the snap back clause in their contracts?

No....which means if a merger is in the works....it would have to be US as the surviving entity.....even though the name will stay AA and headquarters would likely remain in DFW.

 

[etops1]

We will see about an announcement for tomorrow . Doug Parker will be hosting his monthly crew news session in PHX to FA 's and Pilots while in recurrent . It's basically a run down about what's going on in the industry with employees followed by a Q and A. He ,Scott , and Robert Isom do it every month . Isom will be in CLT Wedneseday hosting it . Scott on the other hand could very well be in Dallas tending to other issues ..

 

[WorldTraveler]

wings,
I've been following Delta from the time when they used to have 3 L1011s lined up at the then fairly new IAH - one to ATL, one to ORD, and one to LGA.
.
You still haven't told me how you think US is going to mount a takeover bid when it isn't even legally possible... you also haven't told us who else besides labor (which makes up 1/3 of the AMR UCC) supports terminating the exclusivity clause and supporting a merger with LCC?

 

[AAStew]

World Traveler, why would the UCC not petition to end exclusivity? That certainly does make it legally possible, and I think may be feasible.

 

[signals]

Just my uneducated guess:
LCC is once again a stalking horse. I still say AA can restructure itself. But if a merger were in the cards, my money is on Delta.

 

[FWAAA]

World Traveler, why would the UCC not petition to end exclusivity? That certainly does make it legally possible, and I think may be feasible.

I'm not WT, but I think the answer is fairly obvious: AA has yet to achieve any labor cost reductions. AA hasn't yet terminated (or even frozen) any of its pension plans. In short, AA is probably about six months from being an airline that US would want to acquire.

 

[WorldTraveler]

I'm not WT, but I think the answer is fairly obvious: AA has yet to achieve any labor cost reductions. AA hasn't yet terminated (or even frozen) any of its pension plans. In short, AA is probably about six months from being an airline that US would want to acquire.

exactly... but more importantly, the UCC is a GROUP and 1/3 of the group cannot dictate what the other 2/3 want... The 2/3 that IS NOT labor has a much better chance of recovering what they have lost because of AMR's BK by allowing AMR to restructure and emerge on their own.
And if AMR cannot successfully restructure and emerge on their own, then the bidding process will be competitive - and it is quite likely that LCC could not top bids by other airlines, foreign or domestic, with or without investment firms as partners.

 

[wings396]

wings,
I've been following Delta from the time when they used to have 3 L1011s lined up at the then fairly new IAH - one to ATL, one to ORD, and one to LGA.
.
You still haven't told me you think US is going to mount a takeover bid when it isn't even legally possible... you also haven't told us who else besides labor (which makes up 1/3 of the AMR UCC) supports terminating the exclusivity clause and supporting a merger with LCC?

As I'm sure you can imagine, I'm not in any position to know what's been going on behind closed doors. One would think that all of the ducks would be lined up prior to taking any actions. It is no longer a secret that Parker has been meeting with the unions at AA, and apparently they have been receptive to his plans. I'm sure the legal boys have been doing their homework, and know what can and needs to be done in order to make it happen. This is all pure speculation, until we see it in print.

 

[WorldTraveler]

As I'm sure you can imagine, I'm not in any position to know what's been going on behind closed doors. One would think that all of the ducks would be lined up prior to taking any actions. It is no longer a secret that Parker has been meeting with the unions at AA, and apparently they have been receptive to his plans. I'm sure the legal boys have been doing their homework, and know what can and needs to be done in order to make it happen. This is all pure speculation, until we see it in print.

neither am I... but I do know there is a process for reorganizing in BK, including a time when competing PORs can be entertained. Even if labor wants to terminate the exclusivity period, that doesn't mean the rest of the UCC does - or will agree.
.
I suspect we will see the 1113 process completed in the next several weeks and then the merger talk will die down for several more months before US revives it once again starting a couple of months before AMR starts petitioning for an extension of the exclusivity period.

 

[AA89]

Borrowed from TWU Informer in another topic:

Letter to Local 514 Members: 4-16-2012


April 16, 2012



Soon after American Airlines filed Chapter 11, Local 514 set the wheels in motion to ensure the Tulsa Maintenance Base did not become a casualty. We reached out to our community, we set up a website (isupportamericanjobs.com) and we contacted our community leaders and elected officials. Many of our coworkers and family members stepped up to participate.

When February 1st rolled around, there was a small sigh of relief when we found out the Maintenance Base would remain open, but at a cost. When we reviewed the company’s February 1st term sheet, we saw they were planning major outsourcing resulting in the closing of AFW and massive job cuts in Tulsa, terminating our pension plan, retiree medical and so on.

The bankruptcy process is not a worker friendly process. Bankruptcy laws serve one purpose and that is to remove obstacles that would prevent a bankrupt company from reorganizing, whether those obstacles are debt, contracts, workers, etc. Your negotiating team has been working toward finding ways to allow the company to reorganize without devastating so many families.

This company is paying a sizable amount to a lot of experts to get them through Chapter 11. Once AMR emerges from bankruptcy it’s the people that are left on payroll who will make or break this company. Now that we are in Chapter 11, we are convinced that reorganization can be successful only if we have a management team who is willing to see the workers as an asset and treat them accordingly.

We have heard the revived speculation of other airlines’ interest in this company. Because of this, we realize this process has many possible outcomes and we are leaving all options open. Our course will not be set until it is determined what is in the best interest of our members and their families. The Transport Workers Union is prepared to negotiate no matter what the scenario may be.

John Hewitt,

Chairman of Maintenance
Member of the Negotiating Team

 

[etops1]

Borrowed from TWU Informer in another topic:

Letter to Local 514 Members: 4-16-2012


April 16, 2012



Soon after American Airlines filed Chapter 11, Local 514 set the wheels in motion to ensure the Tulsa Maintenance Base did not become a casualty. We reached out to our community, we set up a website (isupportamericanjobs.com) and we contacted our community leaders and elected officials. Many of our coworkers and family members stepped up to participate.

When February 1st rolled around, there was a small sigh of relief when we found out the Maintenance Base would remain open, but at a cost. When we reviewed the company’s February 1st term sheet, we saw they were planning major outsourcing resulting in the closing of AFW and massive job cuts in Tulsa, terminating our pension plan, retiree medical and so on.

The bankruptcy process is not a worker friendly process. Bankruptcy laws serve one purpose and that is to remove obstacles that would prevent a bankrupt company from reorganizing, whether those obstacles are debt, contracts, workers, etc. Your negotiating team has been working toward finding ways to allow the company to reorganize without devastating so many families.

This company is paying a sizable amount to a lot of experts to get them through Chapter 11. Once AMR emerges from bankruptcy it’s the people that are left on payroll who will make or break this company. Now that we are in Chapter 11, we are convinced that reorganization can be successful only if we have a management team who is willing to see the workers as an asset and treat them accordingly.

We have heard the revived speculation of other airlines’ interest in this company. Because of this, we realize this process has many possible outcomes and we are leaving all options open. Our course will not be set until it is determined what is in the best interest of our members and their families. The Transport Workers Union is prepared to negotiate no matter what the scenario may be.

John Hewitt,

Chairman of Maintenance
Member of the Negotiating Team

And there you have it ...If this in anyway does not tell you that they are getting their ducks in order to finalize a deal then I don't know what is . They would not put a memo out like this if something were not going on.

 

[Slopoke]

I've got a few questions. I have not read through tihis entire thread and I apoligize if it has been covered already. What is the upside for current AA employees from a merger with US? Will it keep the bases open? Will it eliminate or reduce the amount of people laid off from AA? Will there be layoffs from both AA and US due to a merger?

 

[WorldTraveler]

And there you have it ...If this in anyway does not tell you that they are getting their ducks in order to finalize a deal then I don't know what is . They would not put a memo out like this if something were not going on.

Given this is an election year, you might want to brush up on the fine art of politics. Its use is not restricted just to Washington.

 

[FWAAA]

Here's what USA320Pilot has to say about the upside for AA employees:

In my opinion, AA's employees will have a choice: Fight AMR's restructuring in hopes of not having the individual Term Sheets imposed through the S.1113 process with its 13,000 furloughs or merge with US Airways and obtain industry leading contracts similar to Delta Air Lines with job preservation.

http://airlineforums.com/topic/53143-us-airways-forum/page__view__findpost__p__890290

USA320Pilot believes: Merge with US and get industry-leading contracts and job losses are no longer a worry.

 

[etops1]

Given this is an election year, you might want to brush up on the fine art of politics. Its use is not restricted just to Washington.

Just sayin . Get that gift card ready ...