Executives at United Airlines parent UAL Corp. said Tuesday they remain committed to consolidation, but offered no clues as to the timing of deals or who their preferred partner might be. UAL has been beating the drum for consolidation for three years now, and in the past 18 months according to sources has approached Delta Air Lines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc. about potential deals. More recently the company, along with Northwest Airlines Corp., has been invited by Delta to discuss possible tie-ups. While the talks with Delta are ongoing, multiple sources say Delta appears more interested in doing a deal with Northwest, a move that could lead UAL to try again with Continental. United officials did not discuss specifics during their year-end earnings conference call on Tuesday, but made it clear they are still looking to do a deal.
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"We believe the industry can benefit from constructive consolidation, and the work we have done improving the company puts us in a very good position to participate in that consolidation as we see fit," CEO Glenn Tilton said on the call. "The goal for our company is to make the right choice at the right time. We will pursue the best option for our employees, for our investors and other key stakeholders."
United also continues to explore the spinoff of its maintenance operation, which it first announced last summer. Company officials said they have received expressions of interest from a number of different parties but are unlikely to make a decision on the unit's fate in the first quarter. Many analysts have speculated the company would be wise to shed its maintenance operation before completing a deal with another airline, as a spinoff would eliminate United's combative mechanics union as an obstacle to a smooth integration. - Lou Whiteman
Go to to a replay of UAL's earnings call
See TheDeal.com story on Delta's talks with UAL and Northwest
See TheDeal.com story on UAL's effort to divest its maintenance business
