CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As soon as the Justice Department sued to stop US Airways and American Airlines from merging, WSOC started looking into what it would mean specifically for Charlotte passengers.
So WSOC rounded up lists of routes and flights out of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport to see how much those two airlines really overlap there. They only fly nonstop to four of the same destinations: Chicago's O'Hare airport, Dallas, Miami, and New York at LaGuardia airport. US Airways has just 35 flights to those cities per day out of hundreds. American has only 22.
Aviation expert and former US Airways employee Ted Reed said looking at that and connecting flights, overall, travelers would have more domestic and international choices after a merger.
"Because more people would be pushed through this hub.And because more people would be pushed through this hub, we would get more destinations," he said.
He thinks travelers would keep paying about the same, but he wouldn't be surprised if prices do go up on flights to two of the four cities where the airlines overlap, like Dallas and Miami, but not to Chicago and New York, because those markets still have a lot of competition.
Another expert, John Locke Foundation blogger Michael Lowrey, said basically the same thing and pictures more flights to smaller, second-tier markets in the Midwest, where American is already strong.
Expert: Airline merger may mean more options for travelers
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