Anderson and Steenland to hit the Hill

Delta CEO Richard Anderson and Northwest CEO Doug Steenland will be on Capitol Hill Thursday to testify before the following congressional panels:

• House Judiciary Committee, Antitrust Task Force, April 24, 10:30 a.m., Rayburn 2141.
• Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, April 24, 2:00 p.m., Dirksen 226.

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Some random numbers on Delta-NWA

From Mike Boyd’s weekly update:

7,100+
Based on an independent Airports:USA analysis, the number of overlapping markets technically represented by the merger of Delta and Northwest, defined as city pairs where a consumer can possibly book either carrier.

14
Out of the top 100 overlapping markets, the number (other than routes connecting existing DL/NW hubs) where the combined market share of the new carrier will increase by more than 2 percentage points. The majority are under 1%.

0
As of today, the number of airports where combining Delta and Northwest will result in single-carrier monopoly service.

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Congress and the airline merger: the small-R republican remedy

Congress may usually cleave along party lines, but it often divides along local lines as well. We are seeing this bipartisan and narrow parochialism in congressmen’s response to the news of the Delta-Northwest merger. Congress is dividing along regional lines of business interest in support of or opposition to the tie-up. The dynamics of the merger mean that the headquarters’ home state is thrilled but that other states fear losses of hubs, jobs, and connections. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) is proud of his hometown airline: “Delta has met its challenges head on and is in a strong position to continue its service to people all over the world. The bottom line is Georgia has always been home for Delta and that is the way it should remain for many more years.” Representative John Lewis of Atlanta, on the other side of the aisle from Chambliss, was even more effusive: “This is a great step for Delta. It is a powerful combination that should help strengthen the air transportation industry in this country. . . . This merger should make it easier for people in Atlanta and around the nation to fly, and it preserves the Delta name. The Delta headquarters will remain in Atlanta, which helps protect the economy of the city during a time of recession.”

But others are not so happy. Representative Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), the powerful chairman of the House Transportation Committee and from the state of the to-be-acquired NWA, has already come out against any mergers. Today he reiterated his opposition (“Other airlines and network carriers will not be able to withstand the potential power of the largest airline in the world; it will be a globe straddling, mega carrier.”) and pledged to use his full oversight power to question airline consolidation. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) sounded a populist theme in defense of NWA: “Today’s merger announcement is not just about Wall Street. It’s also about Main Street, including the best interests of our consumers, workers and local communities.” She added: “Minnesota’s economy is particularly tied to Northwest’s success,” and she promised to make sure that Minnesota retains the current facilities, jobs, and services that NWA houses there. Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) was also skeptical.

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“Premier Global Airline”: liveblogging the Delta-NWA press conference

The press conference is streaming live at www.newglobalairline.com. It got started about 10 minutes late.

Richard Anderson (Delta CEO): this is a financially powerful merger. Also: it’s especially necessary due to record-high fuel prices. He claims Delta-NWA will be “better able to handle the volatility of fuel” than as standalone carriers. Transaction creates over “6,000 new city pairs.” HQ in Atlanta but will retain strong operational and executive presence in Twin Cities.

Doug Steenland (NWA CEO): “combination is focused on sustainable growth and expansion.” Delta-NWA will fly to every major business center in the world. “No hub closures. We remain committed to the communities we serve.” “As a result of our complementary, overlapping route network, competition in the airline industry will remain.”

Q&A:

• Can NWA pilots scuttle the deal? Will Air France-KLM invest in the new Delta-NWA? Anderson: Air France is excited about seeing their European merger hook up with a comparable U.S. merged airline within the Skyteam alliance. Mentions antitrust immunity recently granted for Delta-NWA-Air France-KLM in transatlantic scheduling and fares. Mike Cooper of Delta: “we tried to bring pilot groups together at the beginning.” We have eight to nine months of regulatory processes to bring NWA pilots around. “Game changer” if they can do it, Cooper says.
• Can Delta-NWA achieve profitability regularly? How can the combo offset rising fuel prices? Airline profitable in first year of operations. Expecting fuel prices to rise, so we’re planning for it.
• How and when did the decision to merge first come up? Steenland: first serious discussions began in December.
• How will merger affect airline service? Anderson: both airlines are at the top of airline quality [Ha! Northworst -ed.] The improved connectivity, he says, will improve the traveler’s convenience and experience. “Capital structure to continue to make significant investments to enhance the experience of our customers.” Steenland: focus of airline industry recently is not on premium service but on “survival.”
• Why not shed hubs in Memphis and Cincinnati? Steenland: Memphis is smaller city, “but we’ve found the right size of operation in Memphis to make that hub profitable.” MEM is complementary to Atlanta. We can offer good service from these cities. [See here -ed.]
• If oil had remained at $60, would merger have happened? Anderson: “sound strategic basis” for merger regardless of oil price. Creates first airline in the United States with truly global scope and seamless ties.

Sorry — that’s the end of this liveblog. I had technical difficulties that cut off the broadcast until picking up at the very end. I’ll have more commentary on this later.

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It’s happening.

Merger Mania 2008 is back and kicking. Delta and Northwest have announced their merger plan. See this Bloomberg story for more. I’ll have more on this later, but for now, you can look back at my overview of the DL-NW antitrust issues. After the failure of the two airlines’ pilot groups to agree on a framework for merging seniority lists, labor issues will continue to complicate the deal. The NWA pilots have vowed to “aggressively oppose” the merger.

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Pilots cool Delta-Northwest’s merger jets — and the industry’s

BREAKING NEWS: Delta and Northwest’s pilot groups were unable to come to agreement about a merged seniority list. Delta MEC chairman Lee Moak announced the breakdown of negotiations today in a letter to Delta pilots. Without a merged seniority list, a merger might still go through (companies can force master seniority list mergers, as I’ve written before), but moving forward without agreements from labor means the merged airline’s management has to spend time, money, and energy on important operational issues that might have been resolved up front, like US Airways has been doing for the past two years.

What does this mean for industry consolidation? Mergers are probably off. It was reported that United-Continental was ready to move forward as soon as Delta-Northwest was announced (due to Northwest’s golden share in Continental), but that combination will now be scuttled. In the end, I fear that the merger mania was really a plan to goose stock prices, not actually create value. The hyped capacity cuts are coming anyway, thanks to airlines needing to shed planes and routes that don’t make money at $110/barrel oil (see Mike Boyd’s current weekly commentary). With capacity cuts coming to an already-trim industry, I don’t see the added value of mergers anymore. RIP, Merger Mania 2008.

Hat-tip to Things with Wings, where I first caught this story. After the jump, choice excerpts of the letter.

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Oberstar on mergers: “Hell no!”

In a BusinessWeek op-ed, House Transportation Committee chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) has come out firmly against airline mergers involving the big six.

Yet this latest round of rumored mergers, which includes a United-Continental scenario, as well as a Delta-Northwest combination, is significant. It would mean further consolidation in the airline industry, further reductions in choice for consumers, and probably fewer flights, fewer jobs, and higher fares.

I think Oberstar’s jumping the gun here. The Justice Department will do a full review of any proposed merger. (See here, and see my analyses of Delta-Northwest and United-Continental.)

Deregulation held out the promise of a market-driven industry that would give rise to a host of new entrants, bringing more competition, lower fares, and better service. The immediate aftermath of deregulation saw the expected flurry of airline startups and new market service. That activity, however, was short-lived.

Actually, deregulation did bring new entrants to markets, introduce more competition, and lower fares. Service may or may not have improved (premium service certainly has), but you get what you pay for. Lower fares are a form of better service. And what does he mean by “short-lived”? Changes in the industry have been pretty much constant since 1978. There has never been any shortage of airline startups and new service. It’s a very dynamic industry, and since deregulation, that has redounded to consumers’ benefit.

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