LAN and TAM have announced their intention to merge into a new South American mega-airline group, LATAM. If the merger goes forward, the new company would boast 40,000 employees and transport more than 45 million customers a year to 115...
Continental/United Update Livery
I still am rooting for this design, but at least the merger team at Continental/United is making some progress on the livery of the combined carrier. When UA and CO announced they were getting hitched in May, they revealed this livery for...
The Real Winners When Airlines Merge
Check out this NY Times discussion on who really benefits when airlines merge. It features analysis by: Patrick Smith, commercial airline pilot Brett Snyder, crankyflier.com Holly Hegeman, PlaneBusiness.com Scott Sonenshein, Rice University Pablo T. Spiller, economist, U.C. Berkeley I tend to agree with CrankyFlier’s...
CO/UA Merger: Disappointing Livery and a New Slogan: "Let’s Fly Together"
Check out the official United-Continental merger website. “Work hard. Fly right.” and “It’s time to fly” weren’t great slogans, but “Let’s Fly Together” is a lame and uninspired slogan of the new combined carrier. It’s not even cute. Even...
United Will Buy Continental for $3.2BN
Numerous media outlets are reporting that the UA-CO merger has been finalized. UAL Corp, parent of United Airlines, will buy Continental Airlines Inc. for $3.2 billion, forming the world’s largest carrier in a merger that further shrinks the embattled U.S. airline industry...
Merge By May? United and Continental Talks Heat Up
“I WANT CO!” image courtesy Wall Street Journal We all knew the “talks” between US and UA were just a ruse: Negotiations between UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. are picking up pace, with parties believing a merger...
United and US Airways in Merger Talks…Again
Here we go again: UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. have resumed discussions of a potential merger that would create a global behemoth, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The talks are the latest in a decadelong...
End of an Era: Continental to Eliminate Complimentary Food on Most North American Flights
An end of an era. Continental announced today that it will phase out complimentary meals in Economy on all North American flights under six hours. Continental Airlines Inc., the last big U.S. airline to operate catering kitchens and to serve...
United Airlines <3 Continental Airlines: My Take on Glen Tilton’s Merger Prediction
Mike beat to me it, but I too want to address Glen Tilton’s interview with the Chicago Tribune about the “inevitability” of another airline merger in the next two years. Listeners to our podcast know that I believe a...