Congress Opposes Airline Mergers
Forty-seven members of Congress have supported a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters regarding possible negative repercussions of airline mergers (such as that of Delta and Northwest).Penned by Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL), the letter cites examples from the unimpressive 2005 merger of US Airways and America West Airlines, and it voices general concerns that “…future mergers could result in diminished service to small and medium size cities, job losses, less competition, higher fares, and fewer options for consumers. This is something our economy cannot afford this year.”
Lipinski promises that the industry will be closely monitored and legislation could be drafted to protect the American flying public. You can read the entire letter, as well as names of the Congressional cosigners, in this article.
