pbarnette

But, I look at it this way:

LHR: I think CO has bought about as many slots as will be readily available at anything approaching a reasonable price.

Latin America: Why not just expand service? If there is overlap, then perhaps the markets can support the additional service. Merging allows them to perhaps dominate the market.

More Planes: It may not be cheaper, but it is faster to merge, so if their are enough other ways to add value, then the cost of those planes doesn't seem so high.

Asia: As with LA, since everyone is falling all over themselves to get in there, I don't see how overlap is that big of a deal. Don't forget that AA brings in a West Coast market that I can't imagine CO even scratches.

Domestic Overlap: Horrible? I don't get this. Everything I read suggests that most of these mergers would be with an eye toward reducing domestic capacity. Overlap just makes it that much easier to choose which routes to cut. If a deal is shot down, it won't be because their is too much domestic overlap.

I mean, all of these arguments against the merger hold for pretty much any potential tie-up, to a greater or lesser extent. But, if the dominos start to fall, everyone will have to choose their partners, and it could end up being CO/AA (or NW or UA or US) regardless of how much "sense" it makes.