Even less airline competition on the way?

[marmar]

CHICAGO — U.S. airline behemoths United Airlines and Delta Air Lines could be joined by a third mega-carrier, as talks to merge American Airlines and US Airways heated up heading into the Labor Day weekend.

AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, and US Airways Group Inc. announced Friday that they signed a non-disclosure agreement and would exchange confidential information in an effort to merge their companies. A merged airline would have complementary route networks and achieve the scale necessary to compete head-to-head with the largest carriers, US Airways officials have said.

For consumers, an American-US Airways combination might not be beneficial.

"It is pretty clear that a smoothly executed merger — a historical coin flip at best — would probably create a stronger business entity," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com. "Unfortunately for passengers, we would likely see an acceleration in the current trend in reduced choice, packed planes and higher ticket prices, albeit finally on newer aircraft." .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-usairways-american-20120831,0,7599996.story