US blocks American Airlines-US Airways merger
Print Edition
The US government is putting its foot down on rising airfares and fees by blocking the latest airline merger — but for fliers, it’s already too late.
The past decade has seen the largest transformation of the airline industry in a generation. Prior to 2005, there were nine major US airlines. Today, just five.
The merger of American Airlines and US Airways would bring that number down to four. But on Tuesday, the Department of Justice moved to block the deal, saying it would cost consumers hundreds of millions of dollars a year in higher fares and extra fees.
But even before this, the cost of flying had gone up for consumers as the industry consolidated. The average cost of a roundtrip domestic ticket — including baggage and reservation change fees — grew to US$378.62 last year, up from US$351.48 in 2008, when adjusted for inflation.
The American-US Airways merger would create the world’s biggest airline and help propel American out of bankruptcy court protection. For smaller US Airways, the deal represents a chance to be a significant player in global aviation and to better compete with the larger airlines that now dominate the market.
The latest round of consolidation started in 2005, when America West bought US Airways out of bankruptcy, taking its name. Then Delta and Northwest merged in 2008, followed by United and Continental, and Southwest and AirTran. All of those easily won the blessing of antitrust regulators — the first two under President George W. Bush, the second pair under President Barack Obama.
Andy Brennan, an analyst with IBISWorld, said the government approved those deals to save the then-struggling industry. Now that the airlines’ health has improved, regulators are more concerned about airfares.
“While there’s still a bit of turmoil and volatility in the economy, it’s much more stable than it was only a few years ago,” Brennan said.
The number of players in the European industry has shrunk as well, with the mergers of Air France and KLM, British Airways and Iberia, and Lufthansa with Swiss and Austrian.
Consolidation has made the airlines more stable, provided job security for thousands of employees and rewarded Wall Street investors. Business travelers have benefited from more flight options and easier connections. But families looking to go on vacation face higher fares and fewer airlines to choose from.
“It’s too late. It’s already a very consolidated industry,” said Savanthi Syth, an airline analyst with Raymond James. “I don’t know if you want to stop an industry from being profitable.”
In seeking to stop the American-US Airways deal, the government contends that airlines already follow each other’s moves in setting prices and adding new fees. They even bully each other out of offering sales.
For instance, on April 18, United Airlines increased its fee for changing a reservation from US$150 to US$200. Like lemmings, American, Delta Air Lines and US Airways all matched the higher fee within two weeks.
In the past, passengers might have balked at such charges and boycotted a particular airline. But today, they have no choice but to pay because of fewer options.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
