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| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| May 14 2008, 11:11 AM EDT | jimglab | 153 words added, 455 words deleted |
| Apr 30 2008, 11:12 AM EDT | jimglab |
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United pilots blast management’sAir mergerMidwest talksshuts with US Airwaysdown
Less than 24 hours after Continental Airlines’ board decidedAir (onMidwest, April 27) that it would not pursue a merger with United Airlines, the Associated Press reported that United was in “very advanced” merger talks with US Airways. The wire service said that the two companies were “expected to announce within two weeks that they are combining.” But United’s pilots have come out in vocal opposition to the prospectsubsidiary of a merger with USMesa Airways,Air sayingGroup that suchserves a combination would be “extremely negative from United’s perspective.” Even though United “has its own problems,” the United pilots said,number they alleged that US Airways’ problems “run even deeper,” noting that it trails behind other legacyof airlinessmall incities generatingwith cash19-seat flowBeech from1900D operations,aircraft, andannounced that it ranks “at or near the bottom among legacy carriers” in operational performance andwill indiscontinue customerall satisfactionoperations surveys.due Theto United“record pilotshigh alsofuel notedprices, thatinsufficient twodemand and a half years after US Airways merged with America West, the pilots from those twodifficult formeroperating airlinesenvironment.” areIt still bickeringis aboutnot howrelated to integrateMidwest theirAirlines. seniorityThe listslittle –airline thehad samebeen divisivetrying issueto thatget almostby torpedoedwith the Delta-Northwest merger.help “USof Airways’Essential pilotAir integrationService problemssubsidies havefrom createdthe afederal toxicgovernment, stew,but aseven anythat carrierwas thatnot seeksenough to merge withkeep it will quicklyout discover,”of the Unitedred pilots said.
After“for the proposedlast combinationseveral withyears,” Continentalsaid fellMesa apart,Air UnitedGroup CEO Glenn Tilton – while not confirming alternate merger talks with US Airways – made it clear that UnitedJonathan wantsOrenstein. to partner up with someone. “Our strategy is consistent,” Tilton said. “Consolidation is underway – ensuringThe youcompany havereleased the right partner is everything. We will pursue all options to ensure a strong, sustainable future for our airline.” But United’s pilots also blastedfollowing Tiltonschedule for his 2007 compensation package worth $10.3 million, revealed at the same time United posted a first quarter 2008 losstermination of $545 million. The pilots called Tilton’s pay an “in-your-face displayAir of corporateMidwest greed.”services: TheOn pilotsMay said23 thatit insteadwill ofend pursuingeastern aU.S. mergeroperations, at all costs, United managementLewisburg, shouldW. “takeVa.; a page fromDuBois, Pa.; ContinentalFranklin, Pa.; and turn its attention inward.” The pilots noted that United “is the only carrier in the industry with no aircraft on order or optioned. That is not a long-term plan for survival,” they said.
The prospect of a United-US Airways merger is also complicated by the fact that the two carriers attempted to merge in 2001 – before US Airways’ merger with America WestAthens, Ga. –Effective butMay the31, dealAir wasMidwest rejectedwill bystop federalflying antitrustat regulators.Ely, TheNev.; argumentMerced couldand beVisalia, made,Calif.; however,Prescott thatand theKingman, governmentAriz.; mightand lookFarmington, moreN.NM. favorablyAnd on such a merger today, following a longstanding,June unwritten30, policy known as the “failing carrier doctrine,”airline whichwill arguesend thatservice it’sat betterColumbia, forJoplin aand troubledKirksville, Mo.; airlineGrand toIsland mergeand thanMcCook, toNeb.; goand outLittle ofRock, business. Ark.
