From The USA Today Sky Blog:
Experts are predicting a rash of airline mergers in 2009.
“As we are in a recession that is becoming worse, there is going to be an impact on air travel,” Bruce Zirinsky, a bankruptcy attorney at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, says to Reuters. “There is already shrinking demand and if that continues, it is fair to say we will see more consolidation,” he predicts. For some other U.S. airlines, Reuters suggests “clout” could lead some to look to mergers as their standing among their peers shrinks. “Some, like (American Airlines parent) AMR Corp., face the prospect of going from the No. 1 to the No. 3 network in the U.S., with the loss of interest by high-paying corporate accounts that goes with that,” airline consultant Robert Mann says to Reuters.
If you have inside info about an upcoming airline merger, we want to know!
