Charlie Rose talks to Jimmy Lee

摘要

How did this deal happen?rnThe seeds were planted quite some time ago-in 2006 or 2007-when Glenn [Tilton, United chief executive officer], who has been vocal about consolidation, initiated conversations with a handful of airline CEOs. It was clear then that United and Continental were extremely complementary... and you could easily envision a merger of equals. We negotiated the entire transaction for United, and then on the eve of announcement, [Continental CEO] Larry Kellner and his board pulled out. In 2009, we entered into detailed discussions with US Airways, and word of that leaked out several weeks ago. Jeff Smisek, who is Kell-ner's successor, then called Glenn and said, "Would you be amenable to sitting down again?" and they did.