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Airline consolidation could mean higher prices and fewer choices.
Passengers use self-service kiosks to check in at the Delta Airlines terminal at Logan International Airport in Boston on Tuesday. A merger might work for Delta and Northwest, but it probably won’t be a great deal for travelers.
AP photo
PHOENIX — Getting hitched may be the right move for Delta and Northwest. But for beleaguered air travelers, it could usher in an era of fewer flights, more confusion at the airport and even more crowded planes.
The merger could start a wave of consolidation. And while regulatory approval could take months, industry observers say get ready anyway for fewer carriers in the sky.
“It’s not an industry that works,” said Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America, who lobbied Congress against a bid by US Airways for Delta last year.
“We’re now getting to the point where there are so few carriers left, and they still can’t make money,” he said.
Mergers, combined with recent bankruptcies, mean passengers in many cities can expect fewer flights to choose from, and they’ll be packed even fuller than they are now.
Greater demand for remaining seats translates into higher ticket prices.
“There’s no doubt in my mind fares are going to go up,” said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com, which tracks changes in ticket prices.
Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital brokerage, said the changes could put air travel out of reach for Americans of modest means.
The merger announcement by Northwest Airlines Corp. and Delta Air Lines Inc., which would create the world’s largest airline, has already ignited talks among other airlines as they seek to bulk up to combat rising fuel prices in a slowing economy.
Continental Airlines Inc. executives told employees Tuesday that the airline wants to remain independent — but warned “the landscape is changing” and said it would consider its “strategic alternatives.”