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Best Fares CEO Tom Parsons on what the American Airlines and US Airways merger could mean for air travel.
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All right well when my next guest -- in any airline business decades ago there were at least thirty different carriers that with an American US Airways merger deal likely to happen soon he says.
Only be three legacy airline -- so that this consolidation the nature airfare hikes.
Tom Parsons is the founder and CEO of best fares dot com we're pleased to have this giant have him join a pet I suppose -- joining me to talk them.
Welcome to you -- Wall Street Journal is just saying here that the merger announced make -- come as early as Wednesday or Thursday this week so what will it mean for flyers -- upcoming months.
Well actually it will take his down and we just over the last two years we saw delta and northwest we saw.
United -- -- all.
And this goes through America in US -- so now we have six.
Well we had six different chief sat there making decisions on pricing in airfares and rules and those.
Now we're gonna have three sets a little bit easier for collusion and things in the airline business and and again if you live in a small regional airport not served by low cost airline.
You're probably going to end up paying a little bit more.
And even if you -- -- like you know you still -- -- -- payroll of more with the merger but I think the big issue over the next few months.
Is not so much this merger is but that he was six months ago we're paying about eighty dollars a barrel field now until almost who -- -- And that's our biggest enemy is not this merger but probably the price of fuel right air fares go up.
So -- use terms like collusion.
Stepped off an alarm the regulators have to have something to say about this I know -- raising the fuel price issue gilt prices are high.
But.
These airlines can't merge right if -- are gonna get to -- about raising airfares much higher than they already are.
Well again that in this case though let's look at the crossover US Airways and American have vary vary little crossover.
Having this is probably one of the few I've seen a long time you don't see that much you may have hub cities that you'll see crossovers.
But Americans very weak on the eastern part of the United States US Airways is that we can probably in Central America and and parts of Mexico.
And and also deep South America and places like that.
I don't really see where they didn't department just -- be -- say much and then when you look at all three of these guys.
There already going to be a small percentage part of me I would American on the 2% bigger remaining united in between three percentage -- bigger than delta.
-- it's a -- some perspective Tom.
Where is air fare today vs this time last year say and how high do expected to rise even in percentage terms.
Last if you look at us go -- even ten years or to -- two back to 2000 that was prior one of our worst years villas going through you know right after 2000 line.
We had many coast to coast fares in the 198 range today if -- a large metropolitan city like Boston New York Washington DC for allied -- -- Orlando you can still go coast to coast today and -- -- a good day maybe for maybe 3035327.
Dollars.
And that's -- you know thirteen years seeing the fares go up about 50% is not that bad.
I -- -- or Chicago you can get to the West Coast for eight to 38 to 58.
It's those -- small regional ports airports like an Albany new Yorker Hartford.
Or Greensboro, North Carolina got god knows it -- the airports are getting beat up and -- -- probably as much as a hundred to 200 dollars more than a nearby airport.
Audit hey I gotta run Tom but curious since we have you considering the blizzard in the northeast this past weekend how hard hit -- -- the airlines work.
-- -- -- -- -- -- do let if you look at sandy there was about over 20000 flights canceled this was somewhere out of maybe close the five or 6000.
I think they were ass all the planes coming -- I everything seemed to be given back to norm.
I'd say by Tuesday -- Wednesday this week they'll have everything in order again it was CME passengers just completely canceled.
So the damages -- be there but nothing compared to sandy.
Thanks lot -- your perspective in your NASA's top Parsons.
