The Business Travel Coalition (BTC) and the International Airline Passengers Association (IAPA) jointly urged the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee to consider consumer and competitive issues when examining the proposed Delta Air Lines and Northwest merger.
The Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, currently examining the merger, must insist that the Departments of Transportation and Justice not focus on the proposed Delta/Northwest merger as simply a standalone transaction, the BTC and IAPA said. Congress must instead focus its analysis on implications for the competitive structure of the industry resulting from a radical consolidation of the other major network carriers.
“Moreover, Congress needs to understand the total consumer costs resulting from massive service disruptions and the degradation of the reliability of the system," the BTC and IAPA said. "The direct, indirect and opportunity costs for mid-size communities that lose efficient connectivity to important business centers around the country and globe need to be quantified.
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