The merger of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America has left many travelers bemoaning the impending disappearance of Virgin, one of the industry’s best-loved airlines, as it’s folded into Alaska.
Some of those disgruntled travelers are plaintiffs in a suit filed last week in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco seeking to block the merger on anti-trust grounds.
From the complaint’s introduction:
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The complaint notes that industry consolidation has already progressed to the point that 84 percent of airline service in the U.S. is controlled by just four airlines, American, Delta, Southwest, and United. In conjunction with that consolidation, ancillary fees have skyrocketed, and will likely increase further with the elimination of Virgin as a competitor.
Other effects of the recent consolidation cited by the complaint include a reduction of service to smaller markets, employee cutbacks, and higher fares.
There’s little question that airline consolidation has been a net detriment to the interests of consumers, for many of the reasons the suit mentions. But with the precedent already set by the approval of mergers between American and US Airways, United and Continental, and Delta and Northwest, it’s hard to imagine that this suit will get the traction it needs to succeed.
And from an antitrust standpoint, it can be argued that a combination of Alaska and Virgin, which would create the country’s fifth largest carrier, would increase competition, by creating a player capable of giving the Big Four a run for their money.
The Alaska-Virgin merger will proceed, and air travel will be the worse for it. The loss of Virgin America will be mourned, and it should be. But the airline will soon be a footnote in the history of commercial aviation, as will this lawsuit.
Reader Reality Check
Will you miss Virgin America?
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After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
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Enter the Holland America Line “Choose Your Cruise” sweepstakes by March 31, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a seven-day Holland America Line cruise for two to the winner’s choice of Alaska, Canada and New England, the Caribbean, or Europe, including most onboard meals.
Likely in response to JetBlue’s systemwide double-points promotion, in effect through February 29, Virgin America is also offering double points, but only on select routes.
With the high probability of Virgin America’s being folded into Alaska Airlines within the next two years, Virgin loyalists are in the market for an alternative. And JetBlue wants to be that alternative.
In a first for a U.S. airline loyalty program, Alaska Airlines is offering members of its Mileage Plan program the option to redeem miles to pay for TSA PreCheck service.
Today, two storied travel brands that are destined for the scrap heap announced a marketing partnership that only serves to make their imminent demise that much sadder.
Judging by their load factors, U.S. airlines are doing just fine. For June, Alaska Airlines filled 86 percent of its seats; Delta flew 87.7 percent full; other carriers’ results are expected to be similarly robust.
Alaska Airlines is justly lauded for its Mileage Plan loyalty program, which among other features boasts 17 airline partners, allowing program members to earn and redeem miles for flights throughout the world.
Until yesterday, American Airlines customers dismayed at the airline’s August 1 pivot to a spend-based mileage program had a fallback option: Earn miles for their American flights in Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan program, which still awards miles the old-fashioned way, according to the distance flown.
Ever since Delta began ramping up operations in Seattle, Alaska Airlines’ hometown and main flight hub, the relationship between the two airlines has been disintegrating. And there was plenty to disintegrate. The carriers were long-time partners in each other’s frequent-flyer programs, and they code-shared on a host of flights. They were, in the industry vernacular, preferred marketing partners.
Wi-Fi access isn’t free on Alaska Airlines flights. But at least for the next year, the airline’s passengers can use inflight Wi-Fi to send and receive unlimited texts for free.
By traditional measures, Alaska Airlines is a carrier of decidedly modest size, even after its acquisition of Virgin America. Its own flight network is small, compared to those of American, Delta, and United. And it’s not a member of one of the three global airline alliances.