Economists will tell you less competition means higher prices, and while fares have increased over the past decade, so to have costs such as fuel.
The Director of the Greater Rochester International Airport tells 13WHAM News that he believes fares in Rochester will remain competitive. Mike Giardino cites the arrival of Southwest Airlines in April and the variety of smaller carriers as two market factors that should force the newly formed airline to keep prices competitive.
The higher airfare could impact smaller cities more than larger ones because of the limited competition that may be available at those airports.
Long term, the number of destinations available to customers should increase with this merger. American Airlines offers many international routes to customers and US Airways opens up access to many smaller cities where their presence is large.
One significant impact could be the number of hubs used by this newly created airline. Company leaders insist they will maintain all eight hubs that the two airlines combine to operate, yet past mergers have often meant the reduction or elimination of hubs.
Industry experts have said they do not believe eight hubs is sustainable by any one airline. If that is true, many jobs could be lost and vacant terminals could be found in some larger airports in the U.S.
