United-Continental: is bigger better, or does it just take longer to burn?

Much of the current analysis of recent mergers focuses almost entirely on their domestic implications. But increasingly this becomes a domestic/international equation. That's what has changed over the past decade, as new entrant and low cost airlines have plundered the US domestic market. The strategic relief for legacy airlines therefore becomes increasingly their international linkages. These both deliver better yields (especially while the US dollar is low) and feed into domestic operations. The bigness factor is most powerful in international markets - where global alliances become now a key weapon.