GAO Analysis of United-Continental Merger Highlights Indirect Route Overlap
An analysis of the competitive effects of the p
Both United and Continental hold orders for Boeing 787s. Continental recently announced plans to launch service from Houston to Auckland, New Zealand - a city United now serves from Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Both United and Continental hold orders for Boeing 787s. Continental recently announced plans to launch service from Houston to Auckland, New Zealand - a city United now serves from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

An analysis of the competitive effects of the proposed merger of Continental and United Airlines by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows that combining the airlines would eliminate one effective competitor (defined as providing at least 5 percent of traffic between airports) in 1,135 city pairs, affecting almost 35 million passengers. Conversely, the GAO found the merger would create a new competitor in only 173 markets, affecting some 9.5 million passengers. Although the GAO did note that in all but 10 of the airport pairs at least one other competitor exists, no one should doubt that the merger would mean less competition in many markets if new entrants don't fill the resulting void.