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In my humble opinion I find pro wrestling rivalry's more believable. Mr. Parker and Mr. Horton go way back and describe themselves as friends, but they want you to believe that they never discussed a merger scenario until recent history. In a quote from an Associated Press Reporter, describing a September, 2011 meeting, "I said to Doug, standing by the river, I think there could be the potential for value creation in a combination," Horton recalled. "I made that pitch. We nodded heads to one another." Apparently two months after the nodding, Mr. Horton left the riverside meeting, became CEO of American Airlines and the company declared bankruptcy with 4.5 billion dollars in cash still left in the bank.
Did they nod heads, then wink at each other? Did the two just start thinking about this at the riverside? The playing hard to get strategy has been in the making for years. It is very useful when you are trying convince regulators, creditors, investors and employees, among others, that this merger idea is a recent development. Self divestiture of assets in the past on the part of US Airways, one in the New York area where American has a lot of presence, will not hurt their chances with the regulators, what a coincidence.
The two "rivals" have very similar bios and worked together at American Airlines in the eighties. Mr. Horton's bio quote, "Horton initially joined AMR in 1985 and held a range of senior financial positions, including Vice President and Controller."
Mr. Parker's bio quote, "From 1986 to 1991, he held a number of financial management positions with American Airlines." You would think they could find a more peaceful way of working this out, unless an appearance of a rivalry could help make this a more probable and profitable venture for themselves.
The rivalry among old friends theme comes up quite often in pro wrestling and it is usually very lucrative for the combatants.
Update 08/09/12 AMR Pilots just voted down the latest and last offer from their airline. The Bankruptcy Judge will rule on August 15th and possibly let American impose a contract on the pilots. The American pilots thought they had a safety net in an offer already agreed upon with Doug Parker, CEO US Airways, in the event of a merger.
Look for the Judge to allow American to impose a contract on the Pilots. When this happens Doug Parker (soon to be former hero of American Pilots and current friend of Mr. Horton), will pull his offer off the table and claim he is no longer interested in a merger. A merger will take place next year, with cost cutting and a leaner pilot group.
