TexasGuy wrote:The Delta people are raising all hell. Trust me when i say the creditors are looking at that and monitoring the situation. Try combining these 2 companies with so much Delta "hatred" and that will sink the credit value of the combined company faster than a beer can filled with bullet holes. If the employees arent happy then the customers are not happy. If the customers are not happy, they wont come back. if they dont come back the creditors are screwed.
If US buys Delta the creditors walk away happy and paid. Believe me they don't care what happens later. US is BUYING DL, not merging. If the customers walk away, that is US' problem, not the creditors as they will be out of the picture.
That i understand. I also understand that if Delta is worth more than US will pay, the creditors will most likely go with the Delta plan. This deal is different from the US/AmWest deal. I think your CEO has stirred up a hornets nest....Delta is a proud southern company, and some of those people are still fighting the US civil war
Bad blood doesnt make for a healthy company in the long run. If he pushes this thing, all of you could be out of a job in the long run no matter who buys whom.
Theres nothing better than slow cooked fall off the bone BBQ, Texas style
I'll agree creditors will go with whatever plan pays them more. I'm sure some might feel an obligation to old Delta, but in the end Delta no matter what anyone says is a shell of its former self. Most of the nostalgia with Delta is misplaced and any short term gain will be offset by a changed workplace. Does Delta wish to be the next Pan Am or TWA?
When the plan is submitted, the ball will be in US' court to come up with a better plan. Shouldn't be too hard IMO to match DL and exceed DL.
Delta's service is pretty good (not as good as before, but still pretty good in a cost conscious environment). On the other hand, US Air's service is (to be very charitable) not so good! I regularly fly both and will take US Air only if there are no other options. Shabby interiors and not-too-friendly cabin crew are my greatest gripes. On-schedule performance is about the same.
I'm afraid that if the proposed US Air/Delta merger goes through, US Air will reduce the service level to their current standard.
Maybe, I'm being too hard on US Air, but that is my experience.
Our airframes are very old. The plan is to buy all new aircraft to replace the older 737 classics and early A320s. While US is painting their aircraft, there will be no updates to the interiors of the airplanes. It is a big problem on the old US-East metal as HP was getting leather interiors for the past couple years. Delta needs to do the same with the MD-88s. Our new A319/A320/A321s are as good as anyones out there.
In the end lets face it. You need to reduce your costs if you are going to compete in the US domestic market. There is no room for personal TVs and such if you wish to make money. US is making money and that is why we are getting loans to buy companies such as DL.
cageyjames wrote:Our airframes are very old. The plan is to buy all new aircraft to replace the older 737 classics and early A320s. While US is painting their aircraft, there will be no updates to the interiors of the airplanes. It is a big problem on the old US-East metal as HP was getting leather interiors for the past couple years. Delta needs to do the same with the MD-88s. Our new A319/A320/A321s are as good as anyones out there.
In the end lets face it. You need to reduce your costs if you are going to compete in the US domestic market. There is no room for personal TVs and such if you wish to make money. US is making money and that is why we are getting loans to buy companies such as DL.
True, costs must be kept low in today's envoronment with the emphasis on low fares, but interiors can be given minor freshening on a periodic basis and cabin crew friendliness and courtesy go a long way to make happy customers .... and it doesn't cost anything. At least, they can pretend to like their jobs and the customers!
smokejumper wrote:True, costs must be kept low in today's envoronment with the emphasis on low fares, but interiors can be given minor freshening on a periodic basis and cabin crew friendliness and courtesy go a long way to make happy customers .... and it doesn't cost anything. At least, they can pretend to like their jobs and the customers!
We'll see. I'll be the first to admit US has a long way to go with customer service, but I wouldn't put DL up there with the elite by any means. They are a shell of their former selves.
What I dont understand is that as a visitor to the States, I find warm and friendly service almost everywhere except for NY taxi drivers and most American domestic airlines, where service levels are seriously below those we enjoy in Asia.
Great service in your hotels and restaurants, so why cant it extend to the airlines?
I have flown US Airways many many times. I have almost never had a bad experience from the staff. For the most part they have been friendly and helpful in my experience. The airplanes are not too clean and the service level is horrible. I flew them back when they were a class act. When the US Shuttle was premier and when first class was just that, first class. The mess they have going on now is AWFUL! Paying a first class fare and receiving drinks in plastic cups is not a good idea. Hopefully that will all change soon for the better. They have some very good people there.
I have flown Delta as well and it is a lot better than the product US is currently offering, service wise.
As for domestic full service US airlines, they should take a page from Continental. Being in Houston, that is my primary airline and i must say--thier service is great compared with other US airlines. Clean planes, friendly staff and yes-complimentary meals at meal times!! Only thing they can do to improve themselves for me is to increase the number of first class seats. Its hard as hell to get first class seats out of IAH
.
Theres nothing better than slow cooked fall off the bone BBQ, Texas style
achace wrote:What I dont understand is that as a visitor to the States, I find warm and friendly service almost everywhere except for NY taxi drivers and most American domestic airlines, where service levels are seriously below those we enjoy in Asia.
One can fly between BOS and LAX for less than $250. That is why service is "bad". Air travel in the United States is a commodity. People generally won't pay for extra service if they can get a lower price.
This is why I personally believe consolidation in the USA won't work. Lets just assume US/DL, UL/CO, AA/NW for arguments sake. The theory is that this will reduce capacity and in turn allow for more profitable routes. In practice we all know that there will be startup airlines that will come in to fill the void (if not WN/B6/FL), negating any benefit of the mergers. For every seat you take off the market, they could be allowing at least one more back in by some other airline.
And of course these airlines won't be concerned with making money, just market share so the pressure will be even higher than before the merger.
The 17 creditors, who form an unofficial committee of unsecured claimholders, said in a statement that although they appreciated Delta's progress in its restructuring efforts, the committee "expects Delta to consider methodically, pro-actively and fairly strategic alternatives to its proposed stand-alone Chapter 11 plan to ensure that creditor recoveries are maximized in the Chapter 11 process."
The statement said the unofficial committee consists of 17 members who hold unsecured notes, unsecured deficiency claims relating to aircraft equipment leasing arrangements and other unsecured claims totaling more than $2.25 billion of unsecured claims against Delta.
cageyjames wrote:Delta urged to rethink strategy - 17 creditors with $2.25 bil in claims seek reorganization-plan alternatives
The 17 creditors, who form an unofficial committee of unsecured claimholders, said in a statement that although they appreciated Delta's progress in its restructuring efforts, the committee "expects Delta to consider methodically, pro-actively and fairly strategic alternatives to its proposed stand-alone Chapter 11 plan to ensure that creditor recoveries are maximized in the Chapter 11 process."
The statement said the unofficial committee consists of 17 members who hold unsecured notes, unsecured deficiency claims relating to aircraft equipment leasing arrangements and other unsecured claims totaling more than $2.25 billion of unsecured claims against Delta.
What is the likelihood that Delta will listen to these group of creditors and negotiate a possible merger with US Airways. In the past few weeks since this story broke, Delta has been very direct with its view that it will not merger and will continue to expand as an independent carrier. IMO, I think Delta's creditors will probably make the company accept the US Airways merger deal.
US Airways Group Inc. Monday said it has added Morgan Stanley as joint lead arranger with Citigroup Inc. to provide the $7.2 billion in debt financing the airline has put on the table for its proposed merger with Delta Air Lines Inc.
The deal, which is subject to approval by the US Airways board of directors, calls for New York City-based investment firms Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to share the funding commitment. US Airways retains the right to add one or more financial institutions to the syndicate, according to Monday's statement from the Tempe-based airline.
More pressure on Delta by Morgan Stanley, but still Delta is being stubborn. They want to emerge out of Chapter 11 as an independent carrier, yet their creditors want them to consider the offer of US Airways, man this is getting interesting, I wonder what the next few months have in store of Delta.
US Airways this morning added $1 billion in cash and more stock to its hostile takeover bid for Delta Air Lines and set a Feb. 1 deadline for action by the bankrupt airline's creditors.
The Tempe-based airline said it is now offering $5 billion in cash and 89.5 million shares of US Airways stock, valuing the deal at $10.2 billion based on US Airways' closing price of $57.90 per share on Tuesday. The announcement was made before the stock market opened.
The move, which comes two weeks after CEO Doug Parker said the airline didn't see any reason to raise its bid because it was "more than fair", underscores how serious it is about trying to create the world's largest airline despite serious opposition from the Atlanta-based carrier.
The offer expires February 1st unless the creditors persuade Delta to let US Airways begin looking at its books. Just a little pressure there.
This merger is inevitable, raising the offer to $10.2 billion would be tough to ignore, especially for Delta's creditors. So what will the new company be called? US Delta Scarewayserrr, I mean US Delta Airways.?
David747 wrote:This merger is inevitable, raising the offer to $10.2 billion would be tough to ignore, especially for Delta's creditors. So what will the new company be called? US Delta Scarewayserrr, I mean US Delta Airways.?
It would be US managment with DL branding. It would be equal to the US takeover by America West. Keep managment but adopt name of US.
The Wall Street Journal reports on Wednesday (Jan 10, 2007) that Northwest and Delta are in talks for a possible merger.
(Reuters) The newspaper said representatives of the two carriers, which are No. 3 and No. 5 in the United States respectively, have met regularly for weeks discussing a possible link-up after they both emerge from bankruptcy.
The two airlines have been restructuring in bankruptcy since September 2005. A Northwest spokesman declined to comment. Delta officials were not immediately available for comment.
CXRules wrote:The Wall Street Journal reports on Wednesday (Jan 10, 2007) that Northwest and Delta are in talks for a possible merger.
(Reuters) The newspaper said representatives of the two carriers, which are No. 3 and No. 5 in the United States respectively, have met regularly for weeks discussing a possible link-up after they both emerge from bankruptcy.
The two airlines have been restructuring in bankruptcy since September 2005. A Northwest spokesman declined to comment. Delta officials were not immediately available for comment.
This is correct info, NW and DL are both Skyteam members and are much further then just talking. US is already on the side line, they only don't know it yet.
A318 wrote:This is correct info, NW and DL are both Skyteam members and are much further then just talking. US is already on the side line, they only don't know it yet.
You have that backward. DL is on the sidelines because it isn't up to them. This deal is between the creditors and US.
NW and DL wouldn't be a merger as it has been explained to me, but a tighter partnership. I've not heard what UAL might offer, but it would have to be better that $12B.
I've been told that US/DL would still be Skyteam as LH and UL don't want such a large airline in Star Alliance.
