US Airways and American close the final chapter on major US consolidation

US Airways and American have finally ushered in the last deal among US major carriers that allows those airlines to close the book on consolidation that was opened in the last decade when US Airways merged with America West. While the arguments that the merger between US Airways and America will create a much more stable US industry are sound, the major competitors of the "new" American are not resting on their laurels and will enjoy the competitive advantages of having overcome the typical merger hurdles - labour and systems integration - as the combined carrier faces an 18 month integration period once the deal closes during 2H2013. As United's recent integration challenges illustrate, declaring synergies on paper and delivering those results in a targeted timeframe can easily be derailed and drag down financial performance.

Based on 2012 performance American and US Airways combined recorded roughly USD39 billion in revenues and carried 198 million passengers, surpassing both Delta and United in both of those metrics. By their own estimates, American and US Airways conclude the combined carrier can deliver USD40 billion in revenues based on the projected financial performance for each carrier and deliver USD1 billion in synergies beginning in 2015.