Strange how history works out... via a tip on thedeal.com's blog I note that today is the anniversary of the day the proposed USAirways-UAL merger collapsed. So our counterfactual history could have been an even bigger airline bankruptcy here since both airlines would go through bankruptcy and emerge in one form or another. USAirways was indeed the largest private employer in the region not so long ago... I do not discount the individual pain that many suffered as they were laid off... but remember how just about everyone thought the region would never recover as US Airways scaled back its local operations. Some even compared it to the collapse of the steel industry in scale.. they were off by at least an order of magnitude in terms of direct and indirect job losses. You would have thought we ought to have closed the town down and turn off the lights for all that was predicted would happen.... but the airport still operates, service to most major markets is intact and you would be hard pressed to see a USAirways effect in employment trends these days.
but here is an interesting question: Would a hypothetical UAL-new USAirways merger be blocked by the current justice department?
1 comment:
I am really not an expert on this subject but, I think that a lot of people, including myself were looking forward to the breaking of the stranglehold US air had on fares which were a big problem for the region.
Also given , what i think are some pretty high quality facilities, the idea that no one else would be stepping in was dumb.
I don't like to fly, but might do it a little now as needed.
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