Using the HHI [1], this would be classified as a highly concentrated industry, and the proposed merger increases the concentration quit a bit. I'd expect this to have a rough road with antitrust regulators.
This makes me wonder if those advantages of scale aren't greater than I thought, and maybe the merger would be beneficial.
But as a great admirer of what T-Mobile has done, and a since-voicestream customer, I'd hate to lose their scrappy underdog nature.
We've seen in other markets that going from four to three results in increases in costs for consumers, while keeping investment levels flat: https://www.economist.com/news/business/21699143-country-mer...
I knew nothing about this. My irritation towards the airline industry is entirely based on poor quality / service, which seems (to me) to be the result of my having no meaningful options as a consumer.
Try starting an airline with free checked baggage, free meal and more legroom. If your ticket price reflects the added cost you'd be bankrupt in a few months.
Would it be so terrible if the legacy airlines were thinned, and more Southwest/JetBlue/Virgin America-type newcomers showed up? As it is American, United, and Delta are the largest three airlines in the world because they all had fairly sizable mergers.
"First, merger is presumptively illegal under the 2010 Merger Guidelines. Based on data from Statista, HHIs will go from 2825 (already a highly concentrated market) to 3258. The 400+ increase more than double what triggers presumptive illegality."
It’s hard to imagine a merger that would make more money.
I think this is as much of a “throw shit at the wall and see what sticks” merger, but for the comapnies it makes perfect sense and it’s worth a shot.