Originally Posted by
martin33
the mechanics of it have everything to do with anti-trust, as coordinating schedules/prices absent ATI is illegal and an open invitation to a lawsuit.
Just ain't so in the real world. Ask anyone who lived in SJC or RDU where AA conspired with QQ and JI respectively. AA simply discontinues the routes it doesn't want, B6 takes them, and that's that.
As ex-CEO Bob Crandall of AA so eloquently said to Howard Putnam of Braniff, "Oh, bulls**t, Howard. We can talk about any g******n thing we want to talk about." And what was the eventual outcome of United States v. American Airlines Inc. and Robert L. Crandall, the anti-trust case that led to the public disclosure of that wonderful tidbit? Nothing of substance. Read
http://www.stern.nyu.edu/eco/wkpaper...99-03White.pdf.
USDOJ sees little reason to stick its nose into an industry where almost every airline loses money. Sure, there is pro forma review of mergers in order to satisfy the unions. Beyond that, the anti-trust enforcement people have real problems to worry about -- not the constant shuffling of airline routes and alliances.