And then there is AmTrak.........

I'm kinda wondering why Spirit and Frontier haven't gotten in bed together yet...Common fleet, common cost structure. And to think that Frontier used to be a decent airline to fly!!

But there's no way that any further merger of the Big 3 should ever get approved...

Why would they? Both making very large profits. Don't airlines usually merge when one of airlines is about to fall apart?

Indigo is waiting for a counter offer for F9 from JB

It looks like this thread was originally from 2014/2015, but what would a mega merger look like in the present climate? What would it mean for the airline industry if things didn’t turn around in the time frame that everyone is currently hoping it will, and the government decides down the road that the only option is to nationalize the airlines? I ask because nationalization is often talked about in a negative light, but airlines like Emirates seem to have high pay and QOL despite being government owned. Is it just that our situation is just so much more complex because we have many airlines vs other countries who might only have one flagship carrier?

I understand that government regulation in any industry has the ability to stifle growth and competition and to be much less efficient than the free market can be, but how exactly would a giant merger and nationalization of our airlines affect pilot contracts and pay? Theoretically wages would go down, but is there an obvious answer as to what would happen to the number of pilot jobs, and what would take the place of union contracts? Would the government just dictate your benefits, or would there still be negotiation involved?

I don’t know but I can tell you that government workers have unions too and mergers have always resulted in fewer pilot jobs.