The merger deal struck by American Airlines and US Airways has been widely characterized as the endgame for U.S. airline consolidation, a process begun in 1978 when the government deregulated the industry. After all, in just the last five years, the number of mainline carriers has shrunk from six to three, and low-cost behemoth Southwest Airlines gobbled up AirTran Airways. That leaves the nation with just four large airlines. With the "Big Four" collectively accounting for almost three-quarters of U.S. airline capacity, it could be argued that antirust regulators would be unlikely to sign off on a merger between any of the three remaining legacy carriers, such as American and United Airlines.
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