DL takeover of B6...Possible? Good Move?

It been heavily discussed at a.net today, Im wondering what everyone here feels about this possibility?

http://www.sltrib.com//ci_6838745?IA... ... sltrib.com

I have a feeling if Delta goes through with that, that they would be biting off more than they can chew.
They have a pretty extensive fleet with hubs in SLC, ATL, and CLE (I think).
I think the takeover would cause more of a headache for them as well as for flyers since with one less airline. There would be less competition, and therefore less competetive fares.
But B6's fares aren't really competetive right now anyway.

If this where to happen it would probably more to eliminate a competitor than growth, not the best buisness plan. I mean what would DL need 100 + A-320's for ? And the new B6 Terminal at JFK would be not even close to big enough for DL's large JFK ops, I doubt the gates are planned as wide body gates, and if there is going to be Customs, I am sure it's not designed with DL's volume of passengers in mind. Not a good fit.

A better suitor might be United, they could take all those A-320's, grow and upgrade Ted with seatback IFE, and gain a large NYC presence, something they have never really had. And with all the feed into JFK, perhaps some former International routes might make sense now, and perhaps some new ones as well ?

My two cents

LGA777

Ron, that makes a LOT of sense. It's surprising to me that United just doesn't have more of a presence in the area....and that's a great way to do it.

United had to sell of alot of routes as part of their bankruptcy plan. Their presence has never been really needed because of their presence at IAD. It does make a ton of sense and it is something that adds food for thought though. I would hate to see the airline that is NY at least as far as relateing airlines to cities though. UA defineately could be the best fit if it were to happen. I frankly do not see B6 going anyplace though.

The idea would be Delta knocking down Terminal 6 and expand the new Terminal 5 to include International and FIS capability. The new T5 is 2/3 what Delta needs right now, they just have to add the final piece of the pie and by doing so they dont have to disrupt their current JFK operation. There are many good points that were said today on a.net for and against this. There shouldn't be any antitrust concerns because B6 is NY based and NY has plenty of competition even if B6 went away. The 320 issue isnt a big deal either. JFK can be made a 320 base until Boeing and DL work out a deal to get rid of the 320s and bring 73's online. One has to look at this not from a sentimental Point of view but from a dollars and sense point of view and as an investor, I wouldnt mind seeing this happen. Also, the next year may see a lot of moves being made... some of them will be obvious other will be surprising. :wink:

The only good thing about a DL buy out of B6 might be that they can have the room to go head to head with AA's JFK expansion??? Just a thought.