• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
  • Advertising Disclosure
Home  >  Airline Merger • News • United Airlines • US Airways  >  United and US Airways in Merger Talks…Again
Airline MergerNewsUnited AirlinesUS Airways

United and US Airways in Merger Talks…Again

Matthew Klint Posted onApril 8, 2010 3 Comments

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 dance between the two big airlines and have recently heated up after months of off-and-on conversation, these people said. The talks aren’t that far along and could falter again, these people said.

This news came as a surprise to me, but I still think UA has its eye on the golden goose: Continental. The continued alignment of United with Continental since CO joined Star Alliance leads me to believe that the latest round of merger speculation is somehow geared toward wooing Continental.  

I could be wrong, though. Glen Tilton has been advocating for a merger for ten years and it could be that US Airways is better than no merger at all.

Both companies’ CEOs—US Airways’ Doug Parker and UAL’s Glenn Tilton—have loudly championed the need for consolidation tamong domestic carriers to cut capacity and allow fares to rise.

Yes, but a US-UA marriage? What is it that US offers UA? My hunch is that under a consolidated United Airlines, there would be no need for all three west coast hubs in PHX, LAX, and SFO. SFO is safe and I think LAX would be kept over PHX because of UA’s history and vast flight schedule from LAX. PHX would become like LAS, just a focus city.

Same story in the East. CLT, IAD, and PHL? I don’t think so. There is so much overlap in the European schedules of United and US Air that I can’t fathom the need to continue full service from two Mid-Atlantic hubs and a southern hub only a few hundred miles away from IAD. US is already cutting back at PHL, so I envision a competition between IAD and CLT for supremacy. I’d give the edge to CLT due to its superior weather and facilities. Remember that UA’s facilities at IAD remain "temporary."  Yet, Congresscritters may not like the idea of losing non-stop international service from the DC area and may step in…

If the object of consolidation is to eliminate flights, the overlap between US and UA makes a merger more attractive than a UA-CO merger.

Union disagreement and antitrust concerns doomed the last major push by UA and US to merge and I hope that the unions will vocally oppose the latest merger talks. After all, US and America West have not been able to sort out their own issues after three years:

US Airways, itself the result of a 2005 merger of the old US Airways and America West Airlines, still hasn’t been able to combine its pilot and flight-attendant ranks because the unions won’t agree on seniority. And US Airways pilots have a stipulation in their contract that would raise their wages back to pre-bankruptcy levels if a merger occurs that would trigger a change of control—another aspect United and US Airways would have to confront…

Good.

Continental was widely regarded as a better strategic fit than US Airways, but Continental’s then CEO, Larry Kellner, decided his company would be better off remaining independent. Jeff Smisek, his successor, has said he might change his mind about mergers if Delta uses its size to outpace the rest of the industry…

Good. A combined UA-CO with hubs in EWR, IAD, ORD, DEN, IAH, SFO, and LAX (goodbye CLE) makes so much more sense to me. Not to mention Continental’s strong presence in Central America, South America, and Micronesia. But I think like a consumer and not an executive. A UA-US merger could result in immediate capacity cuts, unlike a UA-CO deal.

Some in the industry think the rekindled talks are an effort by United to tempt Continental back to merger talks. A combined United-Continental would leapfrog Delta as the world’s largest airline by revenue.

My thoughts too.

Previous Article Spirit Airlines to Charge for Carry-On Bags
Next Article Diplomat Jokes About Shoe Bomb After Smoking in Lavatory on DCA-DEN United Flight

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • United Airlines Gets Creative Over Flight Delay But Passengers Still Upset…

    August 15, 2022
  • AirTag Luggage Thief

    Witless Teenager Busted For Stealing Passenger Luggage After Apple AirTag Leads Police To His Home

    August 12, 2022
  • United Airlines Air Traffic Control Game

    United Airlines Adds New Air Traffic Control Game To Mobile App

    August 11, 2022

3 Comments

  1. Sean Reply
    April 8, 2010 at 11:14 pm

    I hope the introduce a DCA->IAD flight so everyone on the old US network can connect to Europe! 🙂

  2. kd5mdk Reply
    April 13, 2010 at 8:06 am

    How many furloughed crew does UA have? Could they just fire everyone from America West (or USAir) and call up enough old UA crew to meet their reduced staffing needs?

  3. Matthew Reply
    April 15, 2010 at 8:43 pm

    @Sean: I do too! IAD-BWI too.

    @kd5mdk: Good question. I doubt the US Air FA union would go for your proposal though! 🙂

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Recent Posts

  • Why I Love My Capital One Venture X Card August 15, 2022
  • Jet2 Wheelchair
    Disabled Woman Humiliated After Pilot Blames Her Wheelchair For Delay August 15, 2022
  • American Airlines Unaccompanied Minor Columbus
    Oops: American Airlines Sends Unaccompanied Minor To Wrong State August 15, 2022
  • United Airlines Gets Creative Over Flight Delay But Passengers Still Upset… August 15, 2022

Categories

Popular Posts

  • American Airlines stock
    Analyst: American Airlines Bankruptcy Increasingly Likely July 24, 2022
  • Avianca 787 Business Class
    Comically Bad: Avianca 787 Business Class July 21, 2022
  • Self-Upgrading Gulf Air
    The Self-Upgrading Imbecile On My Gulf Air Flight… July 18, 2022
  • New Orleans Debauchery
    The Debauchery Of New Orleans July 29, 2022

Archives

August 2022
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Jul    

As seen on:

live_and_lets_fly

The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles is the most beautiful of all Polaris Lounges. Stay tuned for a detailed look and many more photos on the blog tomorrow. Well done @united.
@malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire i @malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire its A380 fleet. While not surprising, it is sad to see the growing list of carriers retiring this superjumbo jet. On Malaysia Airlines, I flew the #A380 once from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London (LHR) and had the entire first class cabin to myself (full review on the blog). It was a beautiful flight that I will always remember.
Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited tha Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited that a new carrier, Avelo, has launched, especially from an airport just 12 minutes from my home!
I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxairport. Hopefully this summer it will return.

.
.
.
.
#Lufthansa #FirstClass #747 #747-8 #StarAlliance #Miles #Points
I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. This is not only a lovely, all-inclusive resort, but one of the best properties to use your @hyatt World of Hyatt points.
.
.
.
.
#Hyatt #BigSur #California #WorldofHyatt #CA-1 #Points #Hotels
In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E In terms of a spacious first class product, the @Emirates suite on a 777-300ER is hard to beat. My preference is Suite 2K.

.
.
.
.
#Emirates #777 #firstclass
Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from I Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from Instagram ahead of the birth of my first child. Goodness, how time flies. While I’ve enjoyed catching up on others over the years, now it is time for me to return to Instagram. In this first post, I highlight two joys in my life, my two children, whom I trust will grow up to be prolific travelers that circumnavigate the globe as ambassadors of love and respect.

.
.
.
.
.

#travel #airplanes #airlines #miles #points #familytravel #human #integrity #honor
United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improvement over UA's current business class seat. Check out my blog at liveandletsfly.com for 70+ photos of how @united is transforming its entire business class experience starting this December!
The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben! The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben!
Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen - Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -- oh, and I love 40°F summer weather!
One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure of flying with in all my years of flying. Thank you @flysas SK940 on 11 Aug 2016
Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I a Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I assign a window seat months in advance, don't move me to a center seat "for my convenience" with no way to get my original seat back... 😞
Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be racing the #Delta flight to JFK at the gate next to us, which also departs at 12:45p. With @onemileatatime
Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregenc Another room with a beautiful view... #hyattregencycasablanca #cassablanca #hyatt
Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the i Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the inside of the @grandhyatt_shanghai ... It is 40°C outside! 😓
From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minut From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minutes flat. I ❤️ #bur #burbankairport
@malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in se @malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in service at #kul -- beautiful livery!
View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful bran View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful brand new @parkhyattguangzhou -- look for a full review coming soon on the blog #hyatt #parkhyatt #guangzhou #parkhyattguangzhou
Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, Will miss the @united #globalfirstlounge at #ord, which closes tomorrow and the Queen of the Skies #747 which will be retired in 2018.
The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. If you're ever here, get up at 5am and have a walk around the city before it gets busy. You can hear the birds instead of honking horns.
Load More... Follow on Instagram
facebook twitter instagram rss

This site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.

 

Advertiser Disclosure: Some links to credit cards and other products on this website will earn an affiliate commission. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. While we do try to list all the best miles and points deals, the site does not include all card companies or credit card offers available in the marketplace. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners.

 

Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.