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Delta, TPG Assessing Bids for American Airlines
Delta Air Lines Inc. and private equity firm TPG Capital are separately assessing possible bids for American Airlines parent AMR Corp., with hopes that AMR's troubles present another opportunity for airline consolidation, people familiar with the matter said. AMR filed for bankruptcy court protection in late November and is in the midst of restructuring its debt and cutting labor costs after it. Any bid for AMR likely would come several months from now. AMR could use the bankruptcy process… (online.wsj.com) Altro...Is bigger better?. Alaska Airlines has demonstrated year after year that a well run airline with agents who care and when everyting is done efficiently, money can be made. Read this interesting article http://crankyflier.com/2011/04/28/why-dont-people-hate-alaska-airlines/ Why do the big airlines can´t; well, everybody knows why.
stockholders. Everyone of them wants short term $ instead of long term security. Look at the market by itself, and you can see common sense by some that are invested in blue chips that pay regular dividends and then look at the continual trading that goes on in hopes of making a quick buck.
Not some much when analyzing the airline industry separately but that certainly applies to the greedy monsters of Wall St., bankers and stock brokers (and their banking counterparts in Europe as well) but it is impossible not to recall Karl Markx famous?, infamous? dictum that sooner or later capitalism will devour itself to which some added: unless it is properly kept in check.
Big fish eating small fish, a game that never ends. In 1982 Braniff sold its South American routes to Eastern Airlines and went down in flames. Eastern after several tumultous years sold its So. American routes to American and the Transatlantic routes to Continental and nose-dived in 1991, American taking over. Now what. Delta has a full plate with the acquisition of Northwest and there are Government isues due to diminished competition. US Airways is not in good financial shape (who is, by the way?). TGP seems going for a buy-and-carve solution, don't give them much of a chance. So I am betting my pennies that American will continue being itself but through a severe reorg including selling off the regionals.
All of the comments have good merit and in the end nobody can really say but my guess based on our company going through a merger that was failed by the Justice Departement ruling the outcome as being a monopoly if played out so there will likely be no merger as described so far but as I said this is just the kick off it has a long, long way to go. And so the game is afoot!