McCartney says fliers often bear the brunt of merger difficulties, facing disgruntled workers, reduced service, operational snafus and the likelihood of higher fares. Scott McCartney, The Middle Seat columnist for The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), writes "when big airlines merge, it changes life for travelers, leading to higher ticket prices, poorer service and maybe even a switch in the credit card you carry." He says that 'for the fractured airline industry, where nine big airlines fight coast-to-coast, removing large competitors and bulking up flight schedules could be a way to better survive high oil prices and recession instead of the bankruptcies and turmoil of past downturns." That's led to talk of mergers –- including recent speculation about Delta –- but so far no big mergers have materialized since US Airways and America West combined in 2005. A deal could be announced as early as mid-February, according to those people." … Delta executives, who completed a round of preliminary discussions with United and Northwest before seeking board permission for formal talks, plan to move swiftly and present the preferred partner to Delta directors when they next meet in early February.
#WALL STREET JOURNAL SUBSCRIPTION USING AIRLINE MILES UPDATE#
The latest update on the subject comes from The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), which says Delta "has opened merger negotiations with both UAL's United Airlines and Northwest Airlines, and hopes to negotiate a merger agreement with one of the airlines over the next two weeks, according to people familiar with the situation.
Merger talk is a hot topic again today in aviation news, with several prominent news outlets picking up the subject. But how would the airline know that? If family members have the mileage number and password, they can continue to redeem miles in someone else’s name.Merger talk rules the day, from reported talks at Delta to the possible affect on alliances Heaven forbid someone passes away, an airline can close a mileage account. Delta and JetBlue miles never expire-although they reserve the right to close an account if a member does not respond after repeated communication. Air Canada is less generous Aeroplan accounts expire after 12 months of zero activity, and Avios (British Airways and Iberia) points expire after 36 months of no activity. Alaska requires some form of activity within 24 months, while Southwest specifically mentions fliers must earn points by flying within 24 months to remain active. If American, Hawaiian, and United Airlines accounts have no activity for 18 months, miles will expire. They retire the liability that airlines might carry needlessly from people who may not plan to (or forget to) use their miles. That’s why expiration policies are in place. At any time, you could choose to redeem those miles and that would come at a cost (real or opportunity) to the airline. You see, airlines carry a liability on their balance sheet for outstanding miles that are not being used.
Airline financial folks begin to salivate when they see a pile of miles about to expire.
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