‘Domestic Powerhouse,
global reach’
This map published in the illustrates the anti-trust issue referenced by Rich Delaney and Representative James Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman of the House of Representatives Transportation Committee.
A merger of United and Continental would create a domestic network across the nation, but in some of their hubs, high market share could raise anti-trust concerns.
Government approval
71% market share concentrated among four airlines?
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Bush Administration rushed to approve the merger of Northwest and Delta Air Lines, taking fewer than seven months to do so back in 2008.
Fast forward to current day politics. Representative James Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman of the House of Representatives Transportation Committee, expects a “more serious” antitrust review of the merger proposal by United and Continental Airlines, compared with Northwest and Delta. Oberstar believes there is a “different spirit” at the Justice Department on antitrust than during the more business-friendly Bush administration.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported domestic capacity of United and Continental merger would command a whopping twenty-one percent of the domestic marketplace, nosing out Delta / Northwest’s twenty percent. American Airlines ties with Southwest Airlines, controlling a fifteen percent share. Those four carriers would monopolize a combined total of seventy-one percent of domestic capacity.
Map published in the depicts passengers boarding and market share (among U.S. carriers serving these cities) for Continental and United Airlines combined, from November 2008 through October 2009.
Bureau of Transportation Statistics