9 replies to this topic

[Pillsbury]

To be honest, I'm suprised that no one has commented on this yet considering it's being heavily discussed in the Charlotte forum.  It appears that US Air is attempting a hostile takeover (I love saying that) of Delta.   Personally, I can't imagine a Delta not based in Atlanta.   Any thoughts?

Here is the article:   Delta

Edited by Pillsbury, 15 November 2006 - 04:23 PM.

[Andrea]

Pillsbury, on Nov 15 2006, 06:22 PM, said:

To be honest, I'm suprised that no one has commented on this yet considering it's being heavily discussed in the Charlotte forum.  It appears that US Air is attempting a hostile takeover (I love saying that) of Delta.   Personally, I can't imagine a Delta not based in Atlanta.   Any thoughts?

Well, I could see them based elsewhere.  While I would imagine there will be other bidders,
since the company's stock is worth relatively little they certainly seem ripe for a takeover by somebody.

[Lady Celeste]

Pillsbury, on Nov 15 2006, 05:22 PM, said:

To be honest, I'm suprised that no one has commented on this yet considering it's being heavily discussed in the Charlotte forum.  It appears that US Air is attempting a hostile takeover (I love saying that) of Delta.   Personally, I can't imagine a Delta not based in Atlanta.   Any thoughts?

Here is the article:   Delta

I think the reason why there has not been much discussion on the Atlanta board is because most of us are taking a wait and see attitude. I'm not an airline expert but my thoughts are that since the combined airline would keep the Delta name then chances are the conbined airline would stay in Atlanta. Do I think this just because of the name....no...mainly because Hartsfield-Jackson will become this new potentially new airline's largest hub. Hartsfield-Jackson is afterall the world's busiest airport and handles over 85 million customers last year. It would seem logistically difficult to have one's headquarters in one city and you main focus in another city. I'm sure there are airlines where their main hub is not also their headquarters but I can only think of one and that is Airtran. Oddly enough though Airtran is a special case because it's most of it's management team is actually here in Atlanta.

Whatever the case, it's best to take a wait and see attitude. Honestly though in this merger I would think that it would behoove the combined airline to keep Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson as it's major hub and headquarters. We shall wait and see though.

[Lady Celeste]

Nevermind, I just read the AJC article and it said that it seemed "unlikely" that Atlanta would remain the headquarters. All I can say is wow. I'm sure the real estate that Delta has here is much more impressive than that of USAir in Tempe. Of course, Delta would be "bought" and I suppose the new owners can put the headquarters whereever they want. I just think that having your headquarters out west and you main hub in the east is not the best model. This new airline is would have Delta's routes and I doubt that the would change them FROM Hartsfield-Jackson to a lesser airport. That would almost defeat the purpose it would seem. Surely a stronger United would see the benefit in obtaining a larger presence at ATL.

I have viewed the Charlotte's forum discussion of such a merger (Charlotte is a hub city for USAir) and from the most recent reports it seems like analyst are not liking this merger. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

[Andrea]

It would be surprising if Delta isn't bought out by someone, but I would think somebody like American might be more likely to do it.  That wouldn't be all bad, although they'd probably move the headquarters to Dallas.

[tombarnes]

I think the Justice Department is going to take a very dim view of most of these merger proposals- especially the current one.  I agree that some sort of change may be inevitable at Delta, but I don't see the current hostile takeover taking off.  Bad pun intended.

Edited by tombarnes, 15 November 2006 - 06:45 PM.

[teshadoh]

Fortunately it won't likely happen - but who knows?  Though this is a rare feeling for me, but I do sympathisize with the airlines, financially most of them are sinking boats due to government regulations.  

Obviously this will hurt losing a big headquarters but fortunately - the hub isn't going anywhere.  It's a no brainer between Charlotte's nice, but vastly smaller airport & Atlanta's.

But on another thought... US Airways, the same old Piedmont Airlines that I grew up with?  Not that Delta is that great, & it really isn't - but US Airways isn't that much of an improvement over Northwest Airlines.  

Bah... it doesn't matter anyways, Airtran still flies out of ATL

[AubieTurtle]

I suspect that the HQ of any merged company would depend on which city/state was shaken down for the largest subsidy.  If Sonny and Shirley take a trip to Arizona and offer to waive corporate taxes for ten years, hand over tens of millions of taxpayer dollars for "training expenses", waive landing fees at the airport, etc. then Arizona will have to decide if they want to cough up a bunch of dough to keep the hq.  These days there isn't much in the way of loyality amongst corporations, it's all about how to extract as much money as possible out of the host city.

[tombarnes]

Delta/USAirways Merger May Be Finished

It appears as though the merger is finished- at least for the moment.  Good news for Atlanta.  This does not mean that merger talks won't be circulating again when Delta emerges from bankruptcy later this year.  

          The Washington Post

[ryanmckibben]

YYYEEEAAAHHH!!!