Originally Posted by
IggySD
For those of you who are cautiously hopeful I wish I could share your optimism. But can anyone come up with an example of an airline merger that actually benefited the consumer? They always seem to claim to with the expanded route network and all that but from observing the DL/NW merger and suffering through the CO takeover of UA I just fail to see how this could in any way be good news for anyone who actually flies (excepting of course the possibility that one or both of the carriers would have just ceased to exist).
For at least some of us, it means more options. When AA implemented the cornerstone strategy, many lost some point-to-point service.
I would also like to believe that the expanded network will bring more award redemption opportunities - domestically and TATL. In the latter case, alternatives to connections in LHR on BA,, PHL instead of JFK. For Mexico, Central America and the Carribean, PHX becomes an alternative to DFW.