Aw, poor United Airlines... Boo-f&*^%$#@-hoo...

i was on the merger team for the FIRST attempt to join united with us airways, and i can tell you it was an unmitigated disaster well BEFORE the government declined to give its blessing...

dealing with united's senior management is not something i would wish on my worst enemy... they're predatory, heartless and totally dedicated to their own personal enrichment at the expense of anyone who gets in their way... i doubt seriously if the upper management gang over at us airways is any different... the only force that keeps these crooks in check is their pilots' union, and THAT'S only because the self-centered behavior of pilots is even MORE excessive than that of their management...

no surprise here...

Talks between United Airlines and US Airways appear to have fallen apart, marking the second time in a month that United failed to reach a deal with a rival airline and putting the future of industry consolidation in question, people with knowledge of the discussions said Tuesday night.

United’s board, and its chief executive, Glenn F. Tilton, raised questions about the arrangement in the past few days, according to three people who were briefed on the decision making but spoke on condition of anonymity

There has been little to no contact between United Airlines and US Airways in recent days and the internal teams of senior executives at both companies, as well as external bankers and lawyers assigned to the project, have put it on “permanent hold,” one person involved in the talks said. While it remained possible the talks could be revived, people involved in the most recent discussions said they had never advanced to final negotiations.

the biggest tragedy here for both airlines is that, as always, whatever negative consequences accrue will fall directly on the shoulders of the employees, the ones least equipped to deal with them, and the ones who must, on a day-to-day basis, deal with people like you and me, the passengers... when you're paying to check that bag and voicing your displeasure to the agent who's collecting your money, remember that the problem doesn't lie with that person...

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Delta/Northwest, Berlusconi, Zimbabwe, and food riots: waking to a string of unpleasant news

where to start...

Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp., squeezed by record high fuel prices and a slowing economy, are combining in a stock-swap deal that would create the world's biggest carrier.

my experience with one of the previous holders of the "world's biggest airline" title, united, tells me that no good will come of this...

and that's the least of the gloomy news...

the europeans couldn't believe we re-elected bush, and i can't believe the italians were stupid enough to re-elect this annoying, corrupt piece of offal...

Media billionaire Silvio Berlusconi won a decisive victory Monday in Italy's parliamentary election, setting the colorful conservative and staunch U.S. ally on course to his third stint as premier.

meanwhile, another totally corrupt, to-hell-with-the-people dictator desperately hangs on to power while the leaders of neighboring countries do nothing...

President Robert Mugabe's security forces fanned out across Zimbabwe Monday on the eve of a general strike called by the opposition after a judge threw out its bid to force the election results.

[...]

At Saturday's emergency summit in Lusaka, regional leaders discussed the post-election impasse long into the night, but they stopped short of criticising the Zimbabwean government or Mugabe.

Regional leaders have been chided for their traditional reluctance to speak out against 84-year-old Mugabe, seen by many as an elder statesman who still deserves respect for his role in winning Zimbabwe's independence.

Some three million Zimbabweans have fled to neighbouring countries in the wake of the country's economic collapse under Mugabe, who has ruled uninterrupted since independence from Britain in 1980.

A one-time regional model, Zimbabwe is now groaning under the impact of the world's highest rate of inflation while even basic food products such as bread and cooking oil are scarce.

and soaring food prices are having the predicted result across the globe, most notably, in a country that hasn't had any genuine good news in seemingly forever...

The good news is that there hasn't been a coup d'etat in Haiti in the wake of violent protests over increased food prices. However Saturday's vote by 16 of the country's 27 lawmakers to oust Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis means that the country is in the middle of a severe leadership crisis - and that Haiti's Head of State, President Rene Preval, is now politically impotent, bereft of his chief executive.

and here's what really, really hungry people look like, courtesy of spiegel...


Haiti


Pakistan


Philippines

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Airline employees fed up?

tell me it isn't true...

And you thought the passengers were mad.

Airline employees are fed up, too — with pay cuts, increased workloads and management’s miserly ways, which leave workers to explain to often-enraged passengers why flying has become such a miserable experience.

airline employees fed up...? i'm shocked... SHOCKED, i tell you...! what earthly reason do they have to be fed up...? how can being lied to and stolen from for years, abused by management, customers, and fellow employees, treated worse than poorly-trained monkeys, nickeled and dimed to death over salaries and benefits, and exposed to bankruptcy as a human resources strategy, POSSIBLY outweigh the glorious gift of employee travel...? what a bunch of ingrates..!

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United Airlines CFO from hell wants airline mergers; hello Teamsters!

jake brace, united airlines chief financial officer, is not a nice man... for some reason, he has managed to stick around at least since i began work there back in 1995, and has occupied the cfo slot since before bankruptcy was declared on my birthday in 2002, a move which wiped out all of my employee stock shares, which were to have been my retirement nest egg...

i was part of the merger team when united and u.s. airways were engaged to be married in 2000, a union which was turned down by the bush administration... it was an ugly mess in a company which was already one of the leaders in rotten treatment of their employees (see below)...

now, jake wants to get bigger... can you smell the greed...?

The US airline industry should consolidate sooner rather than later, and preferably before the end of President George W. Bush's administration, the chief financial officer of UAL said on Monday.

With the US economy slowing and oil prices soaring, US carriers are under pressure to save their fledgling recovery. UAL has been one of the leading proponents of mergers, but has not launched any offers for rivals.

"We want consolidation to happen sooner rather than later and we think that doing something now and getting it done in this administration is a good thing," UAL's CFO Jake Brace said at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington.

The transition to a new administration could create obstacles to mergers and hinder the progress of carriers pursuing consolidation, said Brace. For that reason, UAL, which is the parent of United Airlines would like to see mergers soon.

"If we were able to control that outcome, that's what we'd do," Brace said.

He declined to say whether he views the Bush administration as receptive to airline consolidation proposals. But he said some industry watchers believe it is.

oh, ya, right... "SOME industry watchers believe it is..." puh-l-e-e-e-e-eze... you're so coy, jake...

and if you don't believe me about rotten treatment of employees, check this...

The Teamsters union is seeking a membership vote to represent mechanics at United Airlines, the group said on Monday.

The Teamsters filed a petition with the National Mediation Board, saying it hoped to conduct a vote within the next six weeks.

United's 10,000 active and furloughed mechanics have been represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) since 2003.

Teamsters represent 40,000 airline workers, including 9,000 mechanics and related employees at 11 airlines. These include UPS, AirTran and Frontier Airlines.

"United's airline mechanics deserve a strong voice that will stand up to management's attack on their economic security and on the flying public's safety," Teamsters President Jim Hoffa said in a statement.

Stephen MacFarlane, assistant national director of AMFA, said the Teamsters "have every right" to pursue United mechanics but AMFA will represent its position.

there's an old maxim in employee relations - you get the union you deserve...

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