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Expert says AA/US Airways merger won’t serve public
After the announcement of the US Airways/American Airlines last week, merger pundits having been weighing in on possible aftershocks of the fusion.
Statistics from Purdue University’s Airline Quality Rating Report (AQR) seem to bear out the negative scenarios industry analysts expect for performance and customer service.
American Airlines planned merger with US Airways will "create an oversized bastion of mediocrity that will serve the public in far poorer fashion," says Dr. Brent Bowen, a Purdue University professor responsible for Purdue’s annual Airline Quality Rating Report (AQR).
"There will be no benefits to performance and consumers will not see better quality," Bowen said. "Employees of both airlines will be unhappy and destabilized for an extended period."
US Airways has consistently outscored American over the past five years in the AQR but the smaller partner will not have the heft to bring up the performance of the larger company during the inevitable clash of corporate cultures and technology, according to Bowen.
In the 2008 AQR report, American placed 9th overall. Since then, their performance in the rankings has steadily worsened, while US Airways’ ranking has improved. Previous AQR surveys have shown that mergers of airlines like United and Continental have resulted in delays, lost baggage, employee issues and computer snafus, in part because of similar disparate strengths and values of each airline involved.
Gretchen Kelly
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