8 Airline Mergers That Shaped Today’s U.S. Industry
Photo Credit: Delta CEO Richard Anderson (left) and then-President Ed Bastian (right) after the announcement of the airline's merger with Northwest in 2008. (Delta) Flickr / Delta Air Lines
Skift Take
Eight mergers have really shaped the U.S. airline industry we have today.
The U.S. airline industry today is dominated by four big airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. Together, they fly 78% of all of the seats in the U.S. market.
It was not always this way. At the turn of the 21st century, these same four airlines controlled just over a 50% share of all seats in the U.S. domestic market, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) data via Cirium Diio.
Eight big airline mergers since 2000 have reshaped the U.S. industry. Storied names including Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and US Airways all disappeared into other brands — living on only in memory and the rare heritage livery jet.
Now, two more mergers are proposed. JetBlue Airways wants to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion in a deal the Justice Department is trying to block. And Alaska Airlines has agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion.
Here's a timeline of the mergers tha
