Keeping American Airlines up in the air
- An appeal to learn from past crisis, competitors and the best.
The US airline market has been consolidating for several years, which is a healthy development. Until recently, there were four big US carriers, which is probably too many for the size of the market, as there might only be two that can operate profitably in the long run. This consolidation is an international development, although it will probably take longer in Europe because some airlines are governmentially backed (AirFrance/KLM, Alitalia) and because Europe consits of many countries with different laws, which stretches the merger process. Still, there are signs that, even in Europe, the consolidation process has begun. Hungarian Malev and Spainair are bankrupt, Olympic is almost there, Alitalia has never been very profitable, and Air Berlin survives only because Ethiad is backing it up financially. In the long run, we will see some substanitial consolidation that might end in Lufthansa's and AirFrance/KLM's dominating the European market.
Even though all big US airlines seem to run into trouble at one time or another, their management does not seem to learn from the industry's mistakes. Compared to non-US airlines like Lufthansa, Singapore, and or Emirates, American's finances are much worse.
Currently, AMR, the group to which American Airlines and American Eagal belong, operates about 900 airplanes, serves more than 250 airports in about 50 countries, and employs about 88,000 employees. In December 2011 alone, the company lost US$ 904 million.
Once a strong airline that survived this serious crisis on its own account, American was forced to file for chapter 11 protection in November 2011. Since it did not use its time and financial power to restructure the company to make it more competitive, its competitors have lower costs and can operate more profitably. What followed had to happen since American didn't adapt to its competition's lower cost structure. The fleet is much too old, maintenance costs and labor costs are too high to compete efficiently. Therefore they filed for Chapter 11 at the beginning of 2012.
In this case, leading the company into Chapter 11 made sense, as it will allow management to renegotiate employees' contracts, which would otherwise be difficult given the traditionally strong unions in the airline industry.
Possible ways out...
This is a classic case that the International Turnaround Management Standard can be applied for. The ITMS as a guided system would help the US Airways management to lead the company out of the crisis. US Airways has been looking for a partner for a while because it is at risk of not being able to keep up with other airlines that have merged over the last couple years. A merger could bring significant advantages in terms of providing routes to customers and cost reductions. Currently, US Airways is competing with American on numerous routes, lowering earnings for both of them.
A merger with Delta could be difficult because both American and Delta are (along with United Continental) among the three largest airlines in the US. A merger would probably not be allowed by US Department of Justic (DOJ).
A takeover by TPG would draw the DOJ's attention, and such a takeover would call for some significant restructuring and a risky turnaround plan. However, if it stays alone, American will not be able to profit from the economies of scale it would if it merged with another airline.
American's current CEO, Tom Horton, does not believe that a merger with another airline would benefit American or its shareholders, but I tend to disagree. The stakeholders would certainly profit from a merger if it lifts the airline into first or second place in the list of the largest US airlines. Costs could be cut significantly because most routes are not exclusive to American but shared with a competitor; a merger would end the price war on routes on which the merger partner currently competes with American. Furthermore, less ground personal would be needed, because fewer planes would be necessary to serve the same route; redundancy would be eliminated. A merger would probably be the best strategy for laying off the most employees and chapter 11 does make this step easier than ever. It would be a dramatic step but it would mean the best chances for surviving.
If American continues to go it alone, it will still have to cut costs and workforce without benefiting from the advantages of a merger. It would need to retain redundancy with other airlines with which it shares routes, and it would need to invest sustantially in marketing activities lower its fares, or invest in higher quality service than the competition in order to compete. Furthermore........
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About the Author
Dr. Christoph Lymbersky is a Certified International Turnaround Manager (CITM) a corporate turnaround and restructuring strategies specialist and as a top management consultant responsible for corporate restructuring programs at Detecon International. As a distinguished turnaround leader, he also serves as the director of the Turnaround Management Society, an international non-profit organization of turnaround professionals, consultants, and academics dedicated to advancements in the corporate restructuring, transformation, and turnaround industry. Recently Dr. Lymbersky has published the International Turnaround Management Standard a guided system for corporate restructurings and transformation processes. For more information please visit: www.Turnaround-Society.com
Submitted on: 2013-09-28 05:10:24