flyinryan

Hey, I know United has problems - heaven knows I am the first to point many of them out right here. And this is an increasingly difficult environment in which to run a profitable airline.

Now, most of us are of the opinion that Glenn Tilton's mission at United has always been two-fold:
-get into and out of Ch11, and
-merge the airline
after which, he will take the stock options and whatnot and buy a small country. (Don't care, not relevant.) However, with the announcement from Continental this afternoon, things on the merger front are back to square 1.

My impassioned plea to Mr. Tilton:
DO NOT BE IN SUCH A RUSH TO "GET OUT," THAT YOU MERGE THIS AIRLINE WITH U.S. AIRWAYS. PLEASE, PLEASE, GOD NO, ANYTHING BUT THAT.

I mean - how can you make a poor airline better by merging it with one that is even worse? My mind is boggled by the entire concept.

DWP

I think in their position they can play hard to get and see what happens. They may have cash reserves to see what's left over later in the year, or it could be catastrophic error on their part.

sobore

Agree! CO does many things right and could have been a positive influence on UA, especially the pres club. US can only offer UA the concept of keeping the aircraft interiors as dirty as possible to save money on cleaning expenses.

N334AA

Would you prefer UA to liquidate over a merger with US? Everyone agrees that US sucks but personally I would rather see a merger with US than to see UA gone forever.

At least some things are more similar with US than with CO. They have e500s and are already part of the Star Alliance just to name a couple.

rjque

I would rather see UA liquidate and have better managed companies come in and pick up the pieces. A merger with US will just prolong the terrible service for those of us in fortress hub cities.

andrewwm

Well, we'd at least get a RCC in LAS finally until the whole thing goes bust...

deant

And how many miles do you have in your account now? How many will you have after a liquidation? With US there will be an airline and you will have miles in that airline.

aau

I do not in principle have an objection to a takeover of US Airways. The few times I have flown them have been relatively pleasant. In such a combo UA identity and policies will likely prevail. If UA thinks merging with US makes them a stronger airline more power to them, at least they will get the presence in NE and SE that they have been whining about for years. Liquidation probably won't have positive implications for my M+ account, which is priority #1. What I do not want is US management, and its race-to-the-bottom ideology. The real problem with UA+US is neither company's management is any prize. What UA really needs most, either before or after a merger, is a management team whose #1 mission is making a company that can survive and thrive, in good times and bad, even by itself, instead of cluck-clucking about "industry consolidation", to the media and the public, at every opportunity. The window of opportunity to fix this problem is now very small.

rjque

I am not convinced the miles will go away in a UA liquidation. M+ is one of UA's best assets, and there is a good chance another carrier will buy that from the UA fire sale. Jettisoning existing miles would destroy the entire value of that asset, so I think miles are likely safe under any scenario.

DogHead

And what makes you think he'd ever listen?

flyinryan

I don't think he ever has been, is, or ever will be listening, but it was worth a try.

Markie

How about BA/UA? They used to be pretty close - my first United flight was a connection in ORD from a BA flight - so long ago immigration was in the bottom of the car park!

mahasamatman

UA/LH would have a higher chance.

Wainwright

Completely agree. The thought of having anything to do with US makes me feel ill. If UA merges with US, I would very seriously consider defecting.

BayAreaPilot

UA/LH or UA/BA are non-starters. In today's xenophobic America the restrictions on foreign ownership would never be lifted. Look at all the crap little VX had to go through to prove it wasn't foreign-controlled.