Here are thoughts from Greg Raiff, Chief Executive Officer, of Private Jet Services:
Although the proposed US Airways and American Airlines merger has been challenged by various states and the US Justice Department, what if it does go through?
In the last two major mergers Continental/United and Delta/NW the DOJ rolled over to play dead - so as a result of that outcome-the first question is to hope it does not go though as proposed. We would go from 5 to 4 majors - meaning few airlines competing at airports - so higher fees and fares, and fewer and more jam packed flights.
How will this affect jobs for the newly merged airlines?
The good news is that those jobs will be secure for the most part, those airlines will be making more money - as they cannot go on losing millions per quarter as that had in the past . However, I would not want to be the low person on the job pole as they merge departments, as fewer flights will mean fewer pilots, attendants, ground handlers, as well as other positions.
Will it affect other airlines? If so, how?
The old saying is , my enemies' enemy is my friend: We do quite a lot of business with some of the other airlines - and you could hear the cheers as the DOJ threw down a flag from Chicago to Atlanta to Houston. This is because AA has been on the ropes for years in bankruptcy court - a prosperous healthy American, a vibrant reborn AA could afford to go toe-to-toe to the other remaining majors - and that does not benefit them. Sure, that the others majors would like AA be inefficient and unhealthy. US Airways was a major player in the northeast short haul market, as was AA in the Latin American and transatlantic markets -The efficiency of combining domestic feeder flights into the international service clearly is good thing for the new AA and that makes it harder for United, Delta, and some for the big foreign carriers.
