The DoJ has filed suit to block the merger of US Air and American Airlines, because they’ve noticed that while the airlines’ executives publicly gave the reason for the merger as “synergies” and efficiency, they told the industry that the merger would allow them to jack up prices and charge more fees. Pictured to the right, Scott Kirby the US Air President who took to the podium at a conference to say it was “impossible to overstate the benefit” of the new fees he’d be able to charge after a merger.
The suit hearkens back to the time in 2011 when US Airways President Scott Kirby said that industry consolidation had made it possible for airlines to then successfully complete three airfare hikes that year, reports the Associated Press’ Scott Mayerowitz. And then in 2012 he spoke at an industry conference, saying it’s “impossible to overstate the benefit” of mergers in giving airlines the ability to impose new fees.
Past Statements About Moneymaking Mergers Returning To Bite Airline Execs In The Behind