Jagger69
Three lullabies in an ancient tongue
Well, yet another mega-airline is created. Only a couple of years ago, American Airlines was the largest in the world. Now, since Delta merged with Northwest, US Airways merged with America West and now this latest United-Continental thing, AA has been relegated to #4. The new child of this latest union is being called United but Continental CEO Jeff Smisek will serve in the same capacity with the new entity.
This continued consolidation of US air carriers affects me tremendously because I travel a lot on business. I'm a lifelong Continental guy so I'm not too pleased about this latest development. It's likely to mean fewer flights and higher fares. My frequent flier status is likely to be diminished. Life in the fast lane will get tougher for all of us road warriors.
United will now be the largest airline in the world. They will have domestic hubs in New York, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They will be dominant in international travel, with United being strong in Asia and Continental being strong in Europe and Latin America. It's a monumental development.
At this point, there are only a few independent carriers left and only Southwest maintains a national presence. The others (Air Tran, Frontier, Midwest, Jetblue, Alaska, Spirit) are strictly regional carriers. Other than some various commuter and charter carriers, that is the entire US airline infrastructure. Competition is shrinking and the incentive for a merger like the United-Continental deal are blatant attempts to eliminate competition and exploit the business traveler. Still, there's no way the FTC will stop this deal.
My prediction is that, although airlines will continue to maintain high booking rates (everything I ride these days is stuffed like a sardine can), a lot of companies will begin to look for ways to eliminate air travel whenever possible. With the conferencing technology that is being made available these days, the need to physically meet with clients and prospects is becoming less important in many instances. Why spend between $1,000 and $2,000 on a business trip (my average cost for a 3-4 day trip) when you may be able to accomplish the same result in a 1 hour video-conference that can cost as little as $50/month (or free it you do an audio conference over the phone)?
Those of you who would yawn at all this since you don't travel much will feel it when you do have the occasion to fly. Fares on the regional carriers are bound to feel a "trickle-down" effect so my bet is that you'll pay more to fly as time goes on (and continue to receive fewer amenities) in the process.
Article on the subject is here for those who may have an interest:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2010-05-04-airlinemerger04_CV_N.htm
Here's a rendering of what the new look will be....the United name but Continetal colors and motif (I like it....looks great really):
This continued consolidation of US air carriers affects me tremendously because I travel a lot on business. I'm a lifelong Continental guy so I'm not too pleased about this latest development. It's likely to mean fewer flights and higher fares. My frequent flier status is likely to be diminished. Life in the fast lane will get tougher for all of us road warriors.
United will now be the largest airline in the world. They will have domestic hubs in New York, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They will be dominant in international travel, with United being strong in Asia and Continental being strong in Europe and Latin America. It's a monumental development.
At this point, there are only a few independent carriers left and only Southwest maintains a national presence. The others (Air Tran, Frontier, Midwest, Jetblue, Alaska, Spirit) are strictly regional carriers. Other than some various commuter and charter carriers, that is the entire US airline infrastructure. Competition is shrinking and the incentive for a merger like the United-Continental deal are blatant attempts to eliminate competition and exploit the business traveler. Still, there's no way the FTC will stop this deal.
My prediction is that, although airlines will continue to maintain high booking rates (everything I ride these days is stuffed like a sardine can), a lot of companies will begin to look for ways to eliminate air travel whenever possible. With the conferencing technology that is being made available these days, the need to physically meet with clients and prospects is becoming less important in many instances. Why spend between $1,000 and $2,000 on a business trip (my average cost for a 3-4 day trip) when you may be able to accomplish the same result in a 1 hour video-conference that can cost as little as $50/month (or free it you do an audio conference over the phone)?
Those of you who would yawn at all this since you don't travel much will feel it when you do have the occasion to fly. Fares on the regional carriers are bound to feel a "trickle-down" effect so my bet is that you'll pay more to fly as time goes on (and continue to receive fewer amenities) in the process.
Article on the subject is here for those who may have an interest:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2010-05-04-airlinemerger04_CV_N.htm
Here's a rendering of what the new look will be....the United name but Continetal colors and motif (I like it....looks great really):
