More Airline Consolidation in the Air?

First came word that Delta Airlines might be hooking up, corporatively speaking, with Air France and KLM, that fly under their old liveries but have already combined forces. Earlier in the week, the three carriers announced a transatlantic joint venture that will add four daily flights from London's Heathrow Airport, beginning in April, and could eventually impact all of their combined services between Europe and North America. In addition to New York, service to Atlanta, Cincinnati and and Salt Lake City can be anticipated.

Now, Delta's boss Air Lines chieftain Richard Anderson told analysts that he and is people are looking at further consolidation. Northwest Airlines, for which Anderson once worked, is a likely takeover target, even though a marriage between Northwest and Continental had once been all but assured. The New York Times quoted Anderson as saying that further mergers “could make sense for Delta if it’s done thoughtfully from a position of strength." Odd to view Delta as being in "a position of strength" when it was flying under bankruptcy protection not long ago.

Whenever these consolidations occur, the airlines' spin is that it will eventually be good for travelers: economy of scale, increased service, still same smiling personnel, blah-blah-blah. But color me skeptical. Things tend to improve for business travelers flying on the company credit card, but rarely for Joe and Joan Schmo wedged back in the economy section. Plus, the more the carriers consolidate and code-share, the harder it seems to be to use frequent flyer miles any time that one actually wishes to travel.