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American Airlines and US Airways flirt a merger in the media
American Airlines told her girlfriends she might be interested in dating US Airways.
US Airways told his locker room buddies he thinks American is really cute.
The public flirtation of the two financially-embattled air giants is not far from such high school dating tactics.
This week, American’s CEO Tom Horton wrote a letter to his employees saying:
"At this juncture…it now makes sense to carefully evaluate a range of strategic options, including potential mergers, which could make the new American even stronger."
USA Today reports that a day after Horton’s letter went public, US Airways, considered American’s most attractive potential merger partner and its CEO Doug Parker are still waiting for that call.
Parker told the newspaper that he’s just looking for: "a fair chance to put our proposal up against the American stand-alone plan and let the people who own that company — the creditors of the company — decide which one they prefer.
"We believe if we do that, we will certainly prevail. That’s what we’re asking for."
Although some industry analysts say bankruptcy proceedings could lower labor costs and help American stay single, most industry experts consider the merger a foregone conclusion. Daniel Atkins, an airline industry economist at American’s flight attendant union says, "It’s not an option, it’s not an alternative. It’s inevitable."
Meanwhile, US is playing big man on campus and floating its interest and assets out to American in the media schoolyard.
On his blog this week, William S. Swellbar, Research Engineer in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s International Center for Air Transportation says that: "In its quest to acquire American Airlines, US Airways sounds like a teenager with its first credit card, spending money it doesn’t have."
If US and AA do finally get together, the result is likely to be less than a romance for travelers.
"That’s most concerning for consumers who have seen prices on airfare go up consistently over the last several years," explains ABC News Travel and Lifestyle Editor Genevieve Shaw Brown.
"Whenever a merger takes place that means there’s less competition among airlines, therefore less incentive for airlines to lower their prices."
by Gretchen Kelly
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