{"id":8781,"date":"2022-09-04T18:35:27","date_gmt":"2022-09-04T18:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=8781"},"modified":"2022-09-04T18:35:27","modified_gmt":"2022-09-04T18:35:27","slug":"elizabeth-warren-wants-to-stop-airline-mergers-despite-evidence-that-they-lower-airfares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=8781","title":{"rendered":"Elizabeth Warren Wants To Stop Airline Mergers, Despite Evidence That They Lower Airfares"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“”Data on overall traffic trends supports the notion that the average flier has not been negatively affected by consolidation,” the Eno Center for Transportation, a research nonprofit, found<\/a> in 2017. “As the industry has consolidated and grown throughout the decades, the number of seats that are available for passenger use\u2014available seat miles\u2014has increased multiple times over. By some measures, the cost of domestic air travel has remained level since 2006, adjusting for inflation.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there is some<\/em> evidence that certain mergers have led to price increases. As a 2016 data analysis<\/a> by travel writer JT Genter found, “On average, airfares between former Delta and Northwest hubs increased substantially\u2014much more than the national average\u2014demonstrating that the Delta-Northwest merger wasn’t good for hub-based flyers.” Genter continued, “However, airfares between United and Continental hubs have seen much more modest increases over the last five years, and the fares have actually decreased on average over the last four years.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current evidence, though not uniformly supportive of all mergers, points toward them being generally good for consumers. Larger airlines tend to mean more flights at similar or lower prices\u2014especially when traveling through hubs. Even when evidence points to some mergers resulting in price hikes for consumers, Warren and Padilla’s assertions<\/a> that airline consolidation “routinely heaps inconvenience and abuse on consumers” are exaggerated.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Elizabeth Warren Wants To Stop Airline Mergers, Despite Evidence That They Lower Airfares<\/a><\/blockquote>