The Impact of Mergers on Quality Provision: Evidence from the Airline Industry

Jeffrey T. Prince (Department of Business Economics and Public Policy, Indiana University Kelley School of Business) and Daniel H. Simon (School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University) explain The Impact of Mergers on Quality Provision: Evidence from the Airline Industry.

ABSTRACT: We examine how mergers affect quality provision by analyzing five U.S. airline mergers, focusing on on-time performance (OTP). We find mild evidence that merging carriers’ OTP worsens in the short run. However, we find consistent evidence that in the long run, their OTP improves. Subsequent analyses indicate efficiency gains, not reduced load factor or passenger volume, underlie our long-run result. Additional analyses of quality provision (e.g., flight cancellations) show no long-run worsening in these areas by merging firms. In the long run, airline mergers do not result in worsening performance, at least along several measures, and provide some time-saving efficiencies.