I just saw this report on a New York Times blog HERE today.  To summarize, supposedly people writing this blog have had it confirmed by insiders that United and US Airways are in merger talks.  Mind you, this wouldn’t be the first time this rumour has gone out although it has been some time since I’ve seen it.

It would make sense on several levels.  I’ve always thought that those two companies were more compatible than United and Continental both from a fleet point of view as well as a hub point of view.  It would definitely have some challenges in front of it as a merger in certain markets (Washington D.C. for instance) and labor issues that exist at both companies would kind of worry me about getting a real deal done.

I also wonder at who would run such a proposed entity.  Doug Parker of US Airways hasn’t shown much interest (if at all) in being second fiddle to anyone else in any proposed mergers.  United’s Glenn Tilton would likely be amenable to stepping up to a non-executive Chairman role or leaving altogether but there is a firm “second in command” at United in John Tague serving as President already and who likely expects to rise further with some real justification.  Since he and Mr. Parker are essentially contemporaries, they would definitely be in competition with each other to get the top executive job.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax