You may have read by now that United and Continental Airlines are planning to merge. Pending Federal Anti-trust approval, this could be completed by 4th Quarter 2010. With the recent approval of the Delta – Northwest merger, approval should not be far away.

What does this mean to the traveler, corporations or associations? If you are a United or Continental frequent flier, you should be very happy about the additional number of flights and reach in both carrier’s systems. Frequent flier programs could be more attractive, but be aware of potential changes the carriers could make during this transition.

Simple economics: when there are fewer players and demand increases, prices will increase. That will certainly play out in this scenario and most certainly in non- competitive markets. Domestically, look for opportunities for the low cost carriers to expand into the markets dominated by United and Continental.

Internationally speaking, the combined resources of the carriers will expand their reach, but we don’t expect fares to decrease. Also, this merger could ultimately decrease the number of flights to global locations. This could result in a decrease in options and will impact those required to utilize US carriers bound by the Fly America Act.

What do you think?

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