Bigger May Not Be Better as Airline Marketplace Gets Smaller

19.12.2023 - 21:27 / travelpulse.com / Spirit Airlines / Delta Air Lines / United Airlines / Scandinavian Airlines

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the United States has watched at least eight commercial airline brands disappear in a series of mergers in the industry.

The result is the surfacing of three dominant carriers: United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines. These mergers, along with the strength of Southwest Airlines, have raised concerns about the benefits for passengers, echoing the oft-raised question of whether we are better off now than we were, say, a decade ago, at least as flying is concerned. 

Into that scene comes JetBlue Airways, now seeking to buy Spirit Airlines, which is well-known as the nation’s largest ultra-bargain-seat air carrier. If it passes, that deal would make JetBlue the fifth-largest airline in the country and add another contraction to a notably shrinking industry.

Similarly, the sector recently rattled to another potential shake-up in numbers: that of Alaska Airlines' surprise announcement this month to purchase Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion, including debt. With those two customer-facing brands merged, Alaska would be the fifth largest in the U.S. with a five percent share of seats – or the sixth largest if the JetBlue-Spirit deal goes through.

To that end, 2024 could be a banner year of milestones in mergers and acquisitions for airlines worldwide. In Europe, at least three legacy carriers are also looking to change the airline landscape: Lufthansa hopes to acquire a stake in Italian flag carrier ITA Airways; International Airlines Group (parent company of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Level and Vueling) hopes to gain approval for its Air Europa deal to strengthen its Latin American network and Madrid hub: and Air France-KLM is poised to take a stake in Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). And it is reported that TAP Air Portugal has seen interest from a cornucopia of carriers as it moves toward privatization. 

For Alaska, such a deal would be the second since 2016 in a mad game of the last Russian doll standing. Alaska acquired Virgin America seven years ago and gives the U.S. Justice Department an additional stack of work to get through these next many months in trying to determine the efficacy of this marriage on the competitive airline industry landscape and what it will mean for consumers in an ever-thinning space.

As the world airline industry pulls out of the pandemic following its second set of bailouts in some dozen years, the wins have been staggering. According to an announcement earlier this month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) noted net profits of $25.7 billion for the global airline industry, with operating gains reaching a record $49.3 billion. The IATA says North American carriers are set to collect a combined $14.4