Eliot L. Spitzer, the New York attorney general, said yesterday that he was prepared to go to court to try to block the proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of US Airways by United Airlines, unless the two companies agreed to help ensure that their merger did not diminish airline competition, especially to upstate New York cities.
With no independent central bank to protect the "currency", the value of frequent-flyer miles has already diminished: over the past decade most airlines have increased the number of miles needed for a free flight.Just as passengers are addicted to earning miles, so airlines have become habituated to the profits from selling miles to partner firms.
Anyway, the days of getting high in the sky on airline alcohol are now somewhat diminished, but not yet abolished like smoking.
Executives at rival airlines have said that more mergers will follow if the transaction is allowed to go forward, a prospect that many consumer advocates believe will curtail airline competition, leading to higher fares and diminished service.
Today however, economists and passengers worry that the scope of competition is rapidly diminishing, as more large airlines merge to make mega-airlines.
With the deregulation of the airline industry, however, the role of the CAB was much diminished, and its residual functions were assumed by the Department of Transportation.
The Airline Transport Association said government involvement in airline pricing "diminishes customer choice and competitive differentiation among carriers".
But it has at least diminished the degree of difficulty in arranging and booking golf trips, said Keith Christianson, an airline mechanic, personal trainer and avid golfer in Wantagh, N.Y.
Gatwick argues that the rise of low-cost airlines and new aircraft such as Boeing 787 means that the model of big mega-hub airports will be diminished.
