A normal industry?

Much is riding on the possible merger of America's third- & fifth-biggest airlinesONE by one, the obstacles along the runway to what could be one of the most transforming deals in the world's air-transport industry are being cleared. If, within the next few days or weeks, executives at Delta & Northwest succeed in hammering out a common labour contract with their 11,000 pilots, the airlines will declare their intention to merge, subject to regulatory approval.Were the deal to go ahead, it would almost certainly trigger similar mergers between the rest of the "big six" American network carriers, with United & Continental likely to pair off on one side, & American & US Airways on the other. If, & it is still a big if, what emerged was a stronger, more stable American airline industry, that in turn would be an important step towards completing the stalled liberalisation of the global aviation industry. ...