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This article will probably not surprise anyone around here :!:
When airlines merge, consumers usually lose.
By Bill McGee, special for USA TODAY
For weeks now, even the European ash cloud hasn't kept aviation-holics from blogging and speculating about the on-again/off-again potential mergers between major U.S. airlines. Is a deal between United and US Airways really dead? Was it just a negotiating ploy to get Continental to the table with United? Or maybe, as Dan Reed reported last week, all three will combine into a mega-mega-carrier? No doubt we haven't heard the last of Airline Mergers 2010.
The arguments concerning such consolidation are well-documented. Airline executives and financial analysts claim such mergers lead to greater efficiency and service. Labor officials claim they lead to job cuts. And consumer advocates claim they lead to fewer flights and higher fares.
When airlines merge, consumers usually lose.
By Bill McGee, special for USA TODAY
For weeks now, even the European ash cloud hasn't kept aviation-holics from blogging and speculating about the on-again/off-again potential mergers between major U.S. airlines. Is a deal between United and US Airways really dead? Was it just a negotiating ploy to get Continental to the table with United? Or maybe, as Dan Reed reported last week, all three will combine into a mega-mega-carrier? No doubt we haven't heard the last of Airline Mergers 2010.
The arguments concerning such consolidation are well-documented. Airline executives and financial analysts claim such mergers lead to greater efficiency and service. Labor officials claim they lead to job cuts. And consumer advocates claim they lead to fewer flights and higher fares.
