Mergers in the Airline Industry
By Barry Wenger
Since the deregulation of the airline industry in 1979, many new airlines have opened for business. Often, these new airlines are either owned by or have alliances with one of the larger airlines. The new, smaller airline; however, is kept as a separate entity in order to create an illusion of competition for the consumer. There are actually only four large "airlines," but these airlines include many alliances with other airlines.
The most common airlines:
Aeromexico
Air Canada
Alaska
Aloha
America West
American
ATA (American Trans Air)
Atlas Air
Continental
Delta
Hawaiian
Midwest Express
Northwest
TWA (Trans World Airlines)
United Airlines
US Air
The main alliances:
The Star Alliance[1]:
Main
airline: United
Air
Canada
Air
New Zealand
ANA
Ansett
Australia
Australian
Airlines
British
Midland
Lauda
Air
Lufthansa
Mexicana
Scandinavian
Airlines
Singapore
Airlines
Thai
Tyrolean
Varig
One World[2]:
Main Airline: American Airlines and American Eagle
Aer Lingus
America
West
Cathay
Pacific
Cross
Air
Deutshce
Ba
Emirates
Finn
Air
Iberia
Lan
Chile
Malev
Hungarian Airlines
Lot
Polish Airlines: Service between US and Warsaw, Poland.
Qantus:
Service between the US and Australia-New Zealand
Though not included in the One World Alliance, American also has alliances with the following airlines:
Air Pacific: Service between Los Angeles and Nadi, Fiji
Asiana Airlines: Service between US and Korea
China Eastern Airlines: Service between US and Shanghai and Beijing, China via Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Eva Air: Service between US and Taiwan
GRUPO TACA: Service between US and Central America
Gulf Air: Service from London/Heathrow to business centers in the Middle East
Hawaiian Airlines: Service between the Hawaiian Islands and to the Continental US
Japan Airlines (JAL): Service between US and Japan
Sabena: Service between the US and Brussels, Belgium
Swissair: Service between the United States and Zurich, Switzerland
TAM Airlines: Service between São Paulo and Miami and beyond São Paulo to Brasilia, Curitiba, Florianoplis, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife and Rio de Janeiro.
TAP Air Portugal: Service between the US and Lisbon, Portugal
Turkish Airlines: Service between the US and Istanbul, Turkey.
Continental's Alliance:[3]
Air
France: Air France is one of the primary
airlines in Europe with a global route system that reaches every populated
continent from its home at Paris Charles de Gaulle. It operates Boeing 747,
767-300, 777, 737, and Airbus A-340 and A-320 aircraft on codeshare flights.
Continental and Air France have teamed up to offer 3 daily flights between New
York/ Newark and Paris, and 2 daily flights between Houston and Paris. From
Paris, customers can make convenient connections to Air France destinations
throughout the world.[4]
Alaska
Airlines: Alaska Airlines is the nation's
tenth largest carrier, operating hubs in Anchorage, Seattle, Portland, and Los
Angeles. Together with its sister carrier, Horizon Air, the airlines serve more
than 70 cities in six Western states, Mexico and Canada. Alaska Airlines
operates a fleet of MD-80s and Boeing 737 series aircraft, while Horizon Air
flies Fokker F-28 jets and de Havilland Dash-8 turbo props.[5]
Alitalia: Alitalia is the flag carrier for Italy and serves
66 countries and flies more than 25 million customers annually. It operates
major connecting centers at Rome Fiumicino Airport and Milan Malpensa.
Continental offers daily service between New York/ Newark and both Rome and
Milan. From each of these destinations, customers can conveniently connect to
anywhere on Alitalia's route network.[6]
America
West Airlines: The America
West/Continental alliance is one of the largest domestic alliances in the
industry. Since 1994, the two carriers have offered expanded access and
frequency throughout America West's hubs in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Columbus.
America West also gives customers access to smaller cities such as Burbank and
Long Beach, CA. America West holds the unique distinction of being the only
post-deregulation U.S. domestic airline to successfully grow to major airline
status and continue to successfully operate today. America West operates a
fleet of Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft as well as the Airbus A-320/A-319.[7]
Copa
Airlines: Copa flies to 31 destinations in
20 countries in North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean
from its base at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. Continental has acquired a 49% minority
ownership in the parent holding company of Copa. Copa operates a fleet of Boeing 737 series aircraft, and is
the first Central American airline to operate the next generation 737-700. Copa
offers Continental customers codeshare services between Panama City, Panama and
Miami, Orlando, San Juan, Guatemala City, Lima and Santo Domingo and Los
Angeles. Continental provides codeshare services for Copa customers from Panama
City to Houston and New York / Newark, with connections to cities throughout
the U.S.[8]
Emirates: Emirates is the international airline of the United
Arab Emirates. In April 1998, Emirates acquired a stake in Air Lanka. Emirates
operates services to 48 destinations in 37 countries in the Middle East,
Europe, Africa, West Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, the Pacific Rim, and
Australia. In addition, Emirates serves numerous cargo destinations around the
world.[9]
Eva Air: Service between US and Taiwan
Hawaiian Airlines: Hawaiian Airlines serves 14 domestic and
international destinations in the Pacific region. They operate more than 175 daily
jet flights among the islands of Hawaii.
Throughout 2001, Hawaiian will begin to introduce the new Boeing 717
aircraft into its fleet, sporting a new fuselage livery.[10]
Horizon Air: see Alaska Air description.
Northwest Airlines: (Note: when I requested permission to use
Northwest's logo on this page, I received the following response, "Unfortunately,
due to legal restrictions, we cannot authorize use of our logo on other web
sites." Perhaps they should re-evaluate their public relations policy because I
see no harm in a student using a logo on a school web page. Regardless, I have removed the logo.) Northwest Airlines is the world's 4th largest
airline and flies over 55 million passenger annually. With hubs in
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit, Memphis, and Tokyo, Northwest offers over 2,600
daily flights to nearly 250 destinations worldwide. Continental and Northwest
have formed an extensive alliance relationship which includes codesharing on
most domestic and select international routes. In the U.S., Northwest and
Northwest Airlink (operated by Mesaba Airlines and Express Airlines) offer
customers expanded access to small cities throughout the Midwest, West, and
Deep South. Internationally, from Northwest's hub in Tokyo-Narita, customers
can make connections to cities such as Bangkok, Thailand, Singapore, and Seoul,
Korea. Together, Continental and Northwest offer connecting service via most
U.S. cities to provide increased scheduling options.[11]
Virgin
Atlantic: Virgin Atlantic Airways is the
second largest long-haul carrier of passengers and cargo in the U.K.
TWA's Alliance: (Note, TWA was recently acquired by American Airlines, so all of these airlines are now affiliated with American Airlines).[12]
American Eagle: American Eagle Airlines is TWA's Trans World
Connection carrier in the Northeast and on California's coast, providing
connections to seventeen cities in the United States and Canada. Eagle flights are operated with
37-passenger Embraer 135 Regional Jets and 34-passenger Saab 340 aircraft. California service includes the
following cities from Los Angeles: Bakersfield, Fresno, Santa Barbara,
Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Palm Springs, and San Diego. Northeast routes from
New York's JFK International Airport include: Albany, NY; Hartford, CT; Boston,
MA; Buffalo, NY; Baltimore, MD: Cleveland, OH; Columbus, OH; Washington, DC;
Worcester, MA; Pittsburgh, PA; Providence, RI; Raleigh/Durham, NC; Rochester,
NY; Syracuse, NY; and Montreal, Canada.[13]
Chautauqua
Airlines: Chautauqua Airlines provides
Trans World Express service in St. Louis using 50-passenger Embraer 145
Regional Jets, and 30-passenger SAAB 340 turboprop aircraft. Routes served by Chautauqua from St.
Louis include: Waterloo, IA; Dayton, OH; Cincinnati, OH; Ft. Wayne, IN;
Jackson, MS; Lexington, KY; Lincoln, NE; Rochester, MN (Effective 01/15/01);
Shreveport, LA; Sioux City, SD; Toronto, Canada; and Knoxville, TN.[14]
Corporate Airlines: Corporate Airlines offers nonstop service under
the Trans World Express brand from St. Louis using 19-seat British Aerospace
Jetstream 32 aircraft. Cities served from St. Louis include Marion and Quincy,
Illinois; Cape Girardeau, Ft. Leonard Wood, and Kirksville, Missouri;
Nashville, Tennessee, and Burlington, Iowa.[15]
Trans
States Airlines: Trans States Airlines
(TSA) is one of the largest regional airlines in the United States, and has
been a Trans World Express regional partner since 1985. TSA provides Trans
World Express service from St. Louis, utilizing both turboprop aircraft and
Embraer 145 Regional Jets. Routes served by Trans States Airlines from St.
Louis include: Bloomington, IL; Champaign, IL; Charleston, SC; Cedar Rapids,
IA; Columbia, MO; Decatur, IL; Evansville, IN; Grand Rapids, MI;
Greenville/Spartanburg, SC; Joplin, MO; Memphis, TN; Moline, IL; Madison, WI;
Paducah, KY; Peoria, IL; South Bend, IN; Springfield, IL; Springfield, MO; and
Fayetteville, AR.[16]
TWA Connection: TWA also offers its passengers regional Trans World
Connection service to leisure and business destinations, from points throughout
the TWA network, including the Northeastern United States and Canada,
California, Florida, Bahamas, and the Caribbean. TWA's Northeastern and
California service is provided by American Eagle Airlines, Inc.; the Florida,
Bahamas, and Caribbean service is provided by Gulfstream International
Airlines. All Trans World Connection passengers are eligible to earn Aviators'
miles and can redeem mileage for award travel on TWA's route system.[17]
Trans World Express: Trans World Express, TWA's fully regional service,
is offered between the TWA hub in St. Louis and cities and towns throughout the
United States and Canada. Today, this service is provided by Trans States
Airlines, Chautauqua Airlines, and Corporate Airlines with state of the art 50-passenger
Embraer 145 regional jets and turbo prop aircraft.[18]
(Note: All logos displayed on this page are the exclusive copyrighted property of the corporations they represent.)
Besides the listed footnotes, information on the page was acquired and or verified using the various companies' annual reports.
Do you have more questions? Please email me at GiantsPBPk@aol.com .