Sunday: Analysts say merger likely for AMR
BY JOHN STANCAVAGE World Business Editor
Saturday, May 19, 2012
American Airlines steadfastly resisted filing bankruptcy for a decade before finally succumbing last November. Is a merger the next inevitable step for the fiercely independent airline?
Several industry analysts think so, but leaders at parent AMR Corp. are sticking with a wait-and-see outlook.
Undoubtedly, financial officers at many airlines are running the numbers to see what a combination with their particular carrier would produce.
The possible merger partner that has received the most attention so far is US Airways, mainly because its CEO, Doug Parker, won’t stop talking about American.
In a move that some observers call unprecedented, Parker already has cozied up to American’s three major unions, offering a rough version of what a contract with his airline would look like. The terms are attractive enough that American’s pilots, flight attendants and mechanics have said they’d support joining with US Airways.
“Doug Parker wants to conquer the world,” said Bob Herbst, founder of AirlineFinancials.com. “Right now he wants American Airlines. All his comments in the press are because he wants everyone to know he’s ready to make a deal.”
Herbst, who was a commercial airline pilot for 35 years, said he guesses there’s a 95 percent chance US Airways will merge with American.
Read more in Sunday's World.
