Delta/Northwest Merger sound off

jynxyjoe

Queso King
Just a brutal tear down of the proposed merger.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/grossman/2008-10-03-goodbye-northwest_N.htm
Be afraid, be very afraid.

"Only recently emerged from bankruptcy, both Delta and Northwest still have anemic balance sheets and higher cost structures than many competitors. The combined airline is expected to have over $6 billion in cash, but also $16 billion in debt. Inflated oil prices will assure continued losses."

"Northwest and Delta Air Lines each operate five aircraft types, but have just one type in common, the Boeing 757. This means the new airline will operate an unprecedented nine different aircraft types, giving it a distinct competitive disadvantage."
:(
 
Good article but I'm not sure if I agree with everything that he says.

As far as the fleet stuff is concerned, people make too much of a big deal about fleet comonality. When you get 100 Airbusses you also get the part support, the engineering, maintenance, crews and everything else that goes with it. Its not like they're getting a few of each airplane...we're talking massive scale here; think economies of scale.

Even airlines like Southwest operate more than one sub-type. True that they are a 737 only operator but within that they operate -300s, -500s and -700s all bringing seperate comonality issues to the table. Take a look at Delta and their 767s for a second. They have the -300, -300nonER ETOPS, -300ER, the ex-Gulf Air -300s and the -400ERs. Within their 767-300ER fleet there are some that are configured differently for crew rest reasons. Cairo and other far away destinations from JFK usually get that airplane. My point is that you have to look beyond just one fleet type. An A319 part cant always be interchanged to an A320.
 
Good article but I'm not sure if I agree with everything that he says.

As far as the fleet stuff is concerned, people make too much of a big deal about fleet comonality. When you get 100 Airbusses you also get the part support, the engineering, maintenance, crews and everything else that goes with it. Its not like they're getting a few of each airplane...we're talking massive scale here; think economies of scale.

Even airlines like Southwest operate more than one sub-type. True that they are a 737 only operator but within that they operate -300s, -500s and -700s all bringing seperate comonality issues to the table. Take a look at Delta and their 767s for a second. They have the -300, -300nonER ETOPS, -300ER, the ex-Gulf Air -300s and the -400ERs. Within their 767-300ER fleet there are some that are configured differently for crew rest reasons. Cairo and other far away destinations from JFK usually get that airplane. My point is that you have to look beyond just one fleet type. An A319 part cant always be interchanged to an A320.

Whoa i didnt know Delta had non ER ETOPS planes?

Interesting for sure!
 
I'm not entirely sure all those fleet types are gonna still be with the airline a year from now. It's no secret the DC-9s are being phased out, and the 787s are still on order as well. I'd look for maybe some of the 757s to be put on the secondary market (<cough> FedEx <cough>) when those finally start showing up. Might even see some of the A319s start to drift away, possibly even some A320s. Could possibly unload those overseas if they had to.
 
Which pilot group gets 1st dibs on the 787?

No one knows yet, first they have to get one in the air, and then deliver it. Seniority arbitration is going on right now and there will likely be some fences on the widebody equipment from both airlines but who knows about fences on an aircraft that hasn't even been delivered yet.

Also, I don't think operating 9 diff fleet types is unprecendented as the author claims in the article, check out these A/C that I believe USAir operated all at once:

DC9
Fokker
737
767
757
A330
A319/320
Md80
A321
727


That's ten different fleet types (I separated the 319/320 and 321 due to the size difference even though it's a common type and has some parts commonality).
 
You could even go one step further and list the aircraft operated by Piedmont, Allegheny, and PSA who are wholly owned by US Airways (Piedmont and Allegheny have now merged of course).
 
If USAir does something,that means you do the exact opposite.

So far the NWA/Delta merger has been mostly that so far. Not everyone will be happy about the seniority list, but that's to be expected. Having worked in the USAir Express system during the last couple of years of that merger I've been pretty happy so far with the way things have progressed.
 
I'm not entirely sure all those fleet types are gonna still be with the airline a year from now. It's no secret the DC-9s are being phased out, and the 787s are still on order as well.

Hi Kell,

Actually you mis-spoke. It's no secret because there is no secret. The DC-9s are being retired per maganements plan per several years ago, which has them flying out to 2020.

With commerical paper at a standstill, there is zero money for new aircraft. With oil in full speed re-wind, the venerable, paid-off, -9 will be with us for several more years, I suspect.

Richman
 
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