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United Airlines And Merger With Continental Airlines Essay

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ABSTRACT
UAL Corp.’s United Airlines announced merger with Continental Airlines Inc. on May 3, 2010 and became the world’s largest airline. This $3 billion merger between the two airline companies lifted the beigest regulatory hurdle ever in the international aviation sector. In this paper, I will review through the timeline that covers from the announcement of the merger to the completion with major milestones noted and what role the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was playing in this merger.

TIMELINE
June 2008: CEOs of both United Airlines and Continental Airlines signed and alliance pact. The alliance is an agreement to link international networks and share technology and passenger perks. This agreement is basically a "virtual merger" that includes many of the benefits of a merger without the actual costs and restructuring involved. The alliance took effect about a year after Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines completed their merger, as that released Continental from the SkyTeam contract and allowed for the required nine-month notice. Additionally, Continental joined the Star Alliance, as Delta and Northwest merged.
April 2010: United Airlines was reported to be in serious merger discussion with US Airways.
May 2, 2010: The board of Directors at Continental and United Airlines approved a stock-swap deal that would combine them into the world’s largest airline. Both airlines have taken losses in the recession and expect the merger to generate savings of more than $1

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