Analysts: Continental, United May Be Next Merger
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Continental Airlines Inc. said it’s reviewing options as analysts say it may be pushed into a merger with United Airlines by a tie-up of Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. that would create a bigger, more-powerful rival.
UAL Corp.’s United, the second-largest American airline by traffic, and no. 4 Continental discussed a possible combination earlier this year as Delta and Northwest intensified talks, Continental has said. Delta and Northwest said Monday they would combine in a $3.63 billion stock swap.
“It’s inevitable,” the founder of R.W. Mann & Co., a Port Washington, N.Y.-based consultant for airlines and unions, Robert Mann, said in an interview. “United has been pushing so hard for it, and this does meet Continental’s test that they don’t have to do anything unless forced to by other competitors.”
