"zak" wrote in message
news:pf7hi11a0to4ivlq1ja54f07pd2pt4807k@4ax.com...
> Well, after today's Chapter 11 filing by Delta and Northwest, it
> appears that American Airlines is now the only pre-deregulation U.S.
> major carrier left that hasn't seen a trip to Bankruptcy Court.
>
> The major U.S. domestic carriers in 1978:
>
> American
> Continental - several trips to bankruptcy court
> United - currently in bankruptcy
> Delta - filed Ch. 11 today
> Northwest - filed Ch. 11 today
> US Airways - wasn't a major pre-deregulation, then a regional known as
> Allegheny; several trips to Ch. 11
>
> These are gone:
>
> National - gobbled up by Pan Am in 1979
> Braniff (original) - shut down 1982
> Western - gobbled up by Delta in 1987
> Eastern - shut down 1991
> Pan Am (original) - shut down 1991
> TWA - several trips to Ch. 11, remains gobbled up by AA in 2001
>
> Will American eventually have to file for Chapter 11 just to get their
> labor costs down and their debt restructured so they can compete with
> the others on a level playing field? They don't just have to compete
> with the other U.S. majors that have gone or are going through Ch. 11
> reorganization, but also with the much leaner and meaner Southwest,
> JetBlue, AirTran, Frontier, etc. If AA doesn't file for Ch. 11, they
> will be at a huge disadvantage.
>
> Don't know why AA, CO, DL, NW, UA, and US don't just stop flying
> domestically and concentrate on international routes, which is where
> they can still make a profit. DL could turn all their domestic flying
> over to Song, United to Ted, and the other four could set up their own
> low-cost domestic carriers. Or in the case of US, just become the
> low-cost domestic feeder for AA, CO, or NW.
Welcome to the world of "AirTrak" - no competition means lousy service.
period.
>
> Anyway, it seems like some more consolidation among the majors will be
> needed in the future. There isn't really a need for more than three
> major airlines, probably AA, DL (merged with CO and NW), and UA
> (merged with US).
>
> All in all, what a sad day for U.S. aviation, and what a sad state of
> affairs for a once-prestigious industry.
>
>
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