United Airlines Courting US Airways?
Over the weekend Continental Airlines officially rejected the idea of merging with United. Now, United is reportedly discussing a merger with US Airways. The New York Times writes, "...a United-US Airways deal has already been turned down once by the Bush administration, in 2001, when the Justice Department vowed to sue if the merger went through. The prospect prompted them to call it off. That was before the industry was pummeled by a wave of bankruptcy filings, including two at US Airways and another at United, and soaring fuel prices. Those fuel costs were a main reason cited by Delta and Northwest for their merger."
Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal reports that "the average cost of airline tickets in the U.S. was up 10.2% last month compared with a year ago..." The papers goes on to write, "Many in the industry hope mergers can eliminate seats and competitors and give airlines even greater pricing power."
Kent
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