Monday, December 08, 2008
Airlines Go Merger Crazy!
Don't look now, but soon there may be just one or two airlines to choose from. Or at least so it seems. The tough economy has left a lot of airlines easy pickings for the stronger in a relatively weak field to consolidate and grow.
Delta and Northwest combined just a couple months ago, Lufthansa recently completed its acquisition of Austrian Airlines, joining Swiss to its stable of fellow airlines. And now, its sight is set on Alitalia... as the italian bankruptcy mess sorts itself out. Alitalia, before any other airline gets its hands on it, is looking to merge with its rival Italian carrier "AirOne." Air France/KLM has its sight set on Alitalia too, so Lufthansa is taking no chances, setting up "Lufthansa Italia," a six plane airline based in Milan.
In the meantime, British Airways is building its own empire, looking to merge with both Spain's Iberia Airways and Australia's Qantas. Not to mention each of these European players has a stake in US Airlines.
AirFrance/KLM are extremely invested in Delta/Northwest. Lufthansa owns 19% of JetBlue, and has a close alliance with United - which is also cozying up to Continental. British Airways and American are extremely close as well.
So what does this mess mean for you? Maybe not a lot in the short term, but down the road look at less competition and higher fares.
Delta and Northwest combined just a couple months ago, Lufthansa recently completed its acquisition of Austrian Airlines, joining Swiss to its stable of fellow airlines. And now, its sight is set on Alitalia... as the italian bankruptcy mess sorts itself out. Alitalia, before any other airline gets its hands on it, is looking to merge with its rival Italian carrier "AirOne." Air France/KLM has its sight set on Alitalia too, so Lufthansa is taking no chances, setting up "Lufthansa Italia," a six plane airline based in Milan.
In the meantime, British Airways is building its own empire, looking to merge with both Spain's Iberia Airways and Australia's Qantas. Not to mention each of these European players has a stake in US Airlines.
AirFrance/KLM are extremely invested in Delta/Northwest. Lufthansa owns 19% of JetBlue, and has a close alliance with United - which is also cozying up to Continental. British Airways and American are extremely close as well.
So what does this mess mean for you? Maybe not a lot in the short term, but down the road look at less competition and higher fares.
Labels: airlines, alitalia, british airways, lufthansa, travel
Roger, 12:05 PM
