Hello everyone.
Warning. I’m on pain pills for a tooth I just had to have repaired, so if I say anything strange, that’s my excuse.
The things with wings are having themselves a nice busy week this week with Delta now actively progressing on their quest to find the perfect mate — and it looks like the process is more and more resembling a 60 second round-robin dating party. Okay, nice to meet you too, now on to the next potential partner. Okay, thank you, now let’s make a decision.
I’m going to talk more about this in this week’s PBB, but I think the thing we all have to remember in looking at all of this craziness is this — what do you think the main motivating factor is in all of this activity?
Oh, there is the improved route structure theory, economies of mass theories, the normal “bigger is better” theory, the “if we don’t do this now, the new regime in Washington might not let us do it later” theory, and so on and so on.
My take on this is pretty simple. It’s really not that complicated.
It all comes down to making sure an airline has enough capital in its cupboard — for when times get even tighter.
Or to put it another way, about the only way an airline can effectively raise capital these days is by merging. The deal involving US Airways and America West is the most recent living, breathing example of this.
With airline stock values plummeting and the recessions signs continuing to sprout on every street corner — those who are strategic thinkers are thinking, “We need to get the money in our corner now — while we can”.
And the easiest way to do that is to merge with another airline.
It has nothing to do with which deal “works” the best. It has nothing to do with which airline has the best “fit” with another in terms of fleet mix.
What it has to do with is this — which deal is going to give Delta Air Lines the best infusion of capital going forward.
While I have said all along I think the airline has had its sights on Northwest for more than a year — the economic facts also suggest to me that if the money behind a potential United deal is better — that could swing the vote in the favor of the guys in Chicago.
Wall Street Journal 787 Delay Story: Another Story Without Proper Attribution
Today the Wall Street Journal is going with a story that opens thusly:
Jan. 15, 2008
Boeing, already six months behind schedule on its new 787 Dreamliner jet program, is close to announcing additional delays that could hurt its ability to deliver as many airplanes as promised during the initial year of production. The jet maker has faced difficulties in getting the first plane ready to fly, and now the 787 may not make its first flight until June, according to people familiar with the situation.
“People familiar with the situation?”
I’ll tell you why this bothers me. And it bothers me big time. It seems to me that the WSJ is, more and more, taking stories that are broken by bloggers or internet publishers, and then not giving them proper attribution. I’ve noted this problem in the past with stories from PlaneBusiness Banter, and here’s another example.
Last week Flightblogger, who does a bang-up job in following all things Boeing, was the first to post a note about the latest delays. I noted his comments in last week’s PlaneBusiness Banter, USA Today’s Ben Mutzabaugh gave him props in that paper’s Today in the Sky blog, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer noted his comments, and other news outlets also cited his post.
But no, not the Wall Street Journal.
I think it’s way past time for the WSJ to establish an editorial policy which gives credit where credit is due. No matter who breaks the story and in what medium.
Because the problem here of course is this — if the WSJ believes a story, or material to be factual to the point of publishing it — then they need to give proper attribution as to where they got it.
Period.
Otherwise, some people could think they are trying to make it appear as though their reporters are actually doing something, rather than merely repackaging the work of other writers, bloggers, and journalists — before posting it on the WSJ site, or printing it in the printed version.
Frankly, I thought we were past all this nonsense. Even the New York Times now openly cites bloggers, websites, and other “non-traditional” media sources in their stories.
Ticker: Boeing, (NYSE:BA)