A discussion about the airline industry, airline employees, and all things related

Has United forgotten how to turn a profit because they are so engrossed with finding a merger partner?  Instead of keeping their merger requirements quiet, the airline instead has come out and said they want to merge but only with an airline that has a strong northeast and southern system capable of expanding to Latin America.

Can anyone say déjà vu?  Could United be looking to rehash merger possibilities with US Airways?  Who knows, they might even be courting privately owned airline Spirit Airlines or even JetBlue Airways which both have strong ties to the Caribbean and Florida.

So, I ask again, has United completely lost their interest in making a profitable airline in exchange for a merger partner?  It looks as if they are pursuing a merger more persistently than making cost saving programs to turn the airline around. 

Glenn Tilton, the CEO of United Airlines, has been calling for mergers in the industry for years.  But no one seems to want to join him.  Not Delta.  That’s evident by their stance against US Airways.  Midwest fought the battle against AirTran Airways for years; but soon that will be over with.  Continental seems to be doing great without anyone.  They just won top honors from J.D. Power & Associates. 

In the meantime, United’s customer service has plummeted to the bottom of the pile, their frequent fliers are becoming angry, their employees are fed up with management, and an airline that spent the better part of 3 years in bankruptcy protection still can not turn a profit.    What did they actually do in bankruptcy? 

Consolidation time has come and gone in the industry.  We saw airlines scaling way back on the domestic side while expanding feverishly in the international areas.  Airline executives scream and shout that there is too much domestic capacity.  That may be true.  Southwest Airlines and JetBlue which are mostly focused in the domestic market are slowing their expansion in the up coming years. 

Virgin America and Skybus do not seem to think the market is too crowded.  But it could be that they offer something that the airline’s can not offer.  Virgin America can offer good prices with that famous Virgin style of service.  Skybus can get you across the country for under a $100.

What ever happened to United’s claim to be a “premium” airline at economy prices?  What happened to United caring about their frequent fliers?  What happened to the United that was in bankruptcy?  Bring back the service.  Bring back the premium airline.  Bring back United, as long as it comes back single and not merged.  Because merging will not fix the problems the airline has.  Merging will only create more.  We need only look towards US Airways/ America West and American/TWA and the labor strife those airlines are continuing to endure.  That is something United does not need to put their employees or their passengers through.