Justice Department approves United and Continental airlines merger

[mike r]

Source: Los Angeles Times

The Justice Department said Friday that it had approved the proposed tie-up of United and Continental airlines, after an unexpectedly speedy four-month review that paves the way for the merger to close before Thanksgiving.

To win the blessings of federal antitrust regulators, United and Continental agreed to lease slots for 18 round-trip flights to Southwest Airlines at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, giving the low-cost carrier its second foothold at a major airport servicing New York City. Southwest began flights to LaGuardia International Airport last year.

Continental and United currently operate 442 daily round-trip flights at Newark, Continental's second-largest hub. Continental and its regional affiliate control more than 60% of traffic at the airport, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Southwest will begin flying from Newark in March 2011 and plans to operate a full schedule of flights by June 2011. The deal is contingent on the United-Continental merger closing by Nov. 30.

The arrangement resolves Justice Department qualms about the market power that the merged carrier would have held in New York. It also enables the carriers to potentially wrap up their deal without the protracted investigation that ultimately torpedoed United's effort to acquire US Airways a decade ago...




Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-united-continental-20100827,0,7613802.story

[hlthe2b]

1. Wow... I missed this somehow...

Interesting.....

[rsmith6621]

2. United Eating Continental is the Soon Coming End....

...to both of these carriers lives.........UAL will mismanage and erode what Continental was doing right.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. That's gonna be a goat rodeo.

Will make DAL/NWA look like a cakewalk.

[RC]

4. I can hardly wait till the bounce off the bottom when Delta and United merge.

They'll stack'em in like cord wood. Charge for the pottie and have a coin slot for 10 minutes looking out the window, before the shutter slams down.

[Anakin Skywalker]

5. Great! Less Competition = Even Shittier Service!

F*ck mergers!

[DFW]

6. This will be a case of one making up for what the other lacks

Now, not only do you get hassled by incompetent check-in staff and
arrive late, but now they'll lose your luggage as part of the bargain.