Delta/Northwest merger rubber-stamped

Surprise, surprise, huh?

The merger of Delta and Northwest Airlines (which join under the Delta name) has now been rubber-stamped by Bush's so-called Justice Department, thus making the merger nearly final. This follows similar rubber-stamping by European regulators (who are also preprogrammed to serve corporate interests). U.S. government lawyers said the merger (which creates the world's largest airline) would ease prices for consumers without crimping competition.

I know, man. All those mergers in other industries in the past 15 years or so have really cut my costs and fostered competition, haven't they? (That's sarcasm, folks!)

Is the government really dumb enough to think a merger means more competition? Did they actually say this with a straight face? The whole purpose of a corporate merger is to boost revenues and reduce competition.

Even if the newly merged airline keeps all the same routes, somehow I don't think there'll be any fewer on which it loses your luggage, breaks the clasps on your suitcase, and worse.

Now the only barrier to the merger is a pending antitrust suit by consumers. That is, unless the states act - which they have every right to do (but won't).

It's a hell of a time for a merger, huh? This merger was approved at the same time yet another report came out showing that Cincinnati - where the airport has a near-monopoly by Delta - has by far the highest air fares in America, even as fares nationally have reached their highest levels ever.

Lovely. Now the rest of the country is going to get a taste of what Cincinnati has dealt with for years.

Because Cincinnati's main airport is in Kentucky, the Bluegrass State has a right to regulate this monopoly. The state needs to hop to it.

Any state affected by the Delta/Northwest merger ought to break up the new entity and restore competition at their airports.

(Source: http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/29/news/companies/delta_northwest.ap;
http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20081030/BIZ01/810300306)