US Airways CEO reportedly contacts Delta CEO about merger
US Airways CEO reportedly contacts Delta's Grinstein on possible merger
By Mark Cotton, MarketWatch
Last Update: 12:17 PM ET Jul 29, 2006
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. Airways Group Inc's Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker spoke earlier this summer to his counterpart at Delta Air Lines about the possibility of merging the two companies, The Wall Street Journal online reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the situation.
Delta's Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein reportedly declined the offer of merger talks saying his company was looking to operate as a stand-alone carrier once it emerges from bankruptcy protection. No subsequent discussions have taken place, according to the Journal.
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US Airways CEO reportedly contacts Delta CEO about merger
Contacted by the paper, a spokeswoman for Delta would not confirm or deny that the two chief executives had been in touch. She simply echoed her CEO's reported remarks, saying the airline was ""focusing on emerging as a healthy, profitable and stand-alone company."
Last Thursday, US Airways Group (LCC: news) , formed by the merger of US Airways and America West last year, reported a significant turnaround in its operations. Second quarter net income swung to $305 million, or $3.25 a share, compared to a loss of $3 million, or 20 cents a share, a year ago for the standalone operations of America West. Revenue at the Tempe, Ariz.-based airline came to $3.19 billion, compared with $845 million from America West.
Before combining with America West, the air carrier had declared bankruptcy both in 2002 and 2004. See full story.
On Friday, US Airways shares rose 22 cents to $48.21.
Mark Cotton is a reporter for MarketWatch in New York.
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