The only people who really think airline mergers are a good idea are hedge fund managers who have foolishly dumped 100's of millions into airlines shares that have seriously under performed during the last 12 months. The latest rumor of a marriage between DAL and UAL originated with Pardus Capital, a hedge fund that owns 7 million shares of DAL and 5.6 million of UAL. Over at AAL, FL group urged AMR to spin off the loyalty program to "enhance shareholder value". 2 weeks later FL group reported an $80 million loss due to the sub prime meltdown. These hedge fund managers are under serious pressure from their rich clients. The other group of people that like mergers are investment bankers who are paid large money to put the deals together. Supporting cast members are the analyst's who recommended buying airlines stocks to begin with.

A merger between two large legacy's will not pass the anti trust scrutiny that is sure to follow. All of this talk of mergers is just to drive airlines shares higher.