Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says the state's economy won't be badly hurt if US Airways merges with American Airlines and the company headquarters moves to Texas.
Brewer said Monday she's met with US Airways CEO Doug Parker and he's assured her the majority of jobs in Phoenix will stay even with the move. She says Parker and headquarters staff would move but Phoenix would remain a hub and thousands of operations jobs would remain here.
The governor says news reports that the Phoenix hub may be cut doesn't square with what Parker said. She says she got "all sorts of assurances" from Parker and she believes him.
Tempe-based US Airways is reportedly close to a merger with American parent AMR Corp. to create the world's biggest airline by passenger traffic.
mikedurham posted at 9:41 am on Tue, Feb 12, 2013.
The headline omitted some laguage: ... she said through her tears as she clutched the merger documents while facing the setting sun. I understand her brave words, but the word "ouch" would have sufficed.
truncate posted at 10:28 am on Tue, Feb 12, 2013.
GED Jan says the US Airways merger/move is not going hurt AZ badly. What does that mean exactly, Jan? GED Jan says she got all sorts of assurances from Parker. Did Doug give you a pinky swear, Jan? I am sure that that a CEO would never lie (sarcasm intended).
jataga5000 posted at 3:37 pm on Tue, Feb 12, 2013.
She meant that it won't hurt to bad as long as you are not the one being displaced.
dudelookslikealady1988 posted at 6:53 am on Wed, Feb 13, 2013.
Like any, but especially an airline, CEO; they only lie when their lips are moving, signing documents or making direct eye contact while offering a firm handshake. Governess Brewer is being snowed and is too naïve to recognize it. Maybe we should give her the phone number for the governors of Ohio, Missouri and Pennsylvania and ask them how airline mergers have turned out for their flagship hub airports.
If Phoenix didn't have Southwest, it would be the new CVG, PIT, STL. Soon to come: MEM and CLT or PHL (only one of those two will stand). DEN and SLC are already feeling post merger meltdown. As soon as contractual obligations are met in SLC, look for a shift to a more convenient west coast hub for DL.
It's a good thing that PHX built that new light rail system connecting one parking lot to only terminal 4. Within two years, it will be the ONLY terminal in use.
The only thing that made PHX competitive on airfare was the balance between Airways and Southwest. Phoenix's days as a major connecting hub airport are numbered.
That's all I got to say 'bout that.
abimopectore posted at 9:21 am on Wed, Feb 13, 2013.
Gov. Brewer no CEO or head of a company can offer assurances that commit them to anything but the profitable execution of their business. If you can't see that, then you're just fooling yourself about how business works. Most politicians have no business experience otherwise they wouldn't be offering such assurances without qualifying their remarks.