6. Is there empirical evidence from previous airline mergers to support the DOJs concern
that the merger would reduce competition and raise airfares?
7. In all the calculations of changes in concentration by the DOJ, the assumptions is that
American Airlines and US Airways will continue to operate if the merger is not
approved. Consider a counterfactual where US Airways goes out of business. How would the analysis change in terms of concentration and competition?
8. The case notes that airlines remain deeply vulnerable to external shocks. Use the descriptive statistics in Exhibits 2-4 to evaluate this claim. Lastly, how is the current
coronavirus shock affecting US airline carriers? Do you think it is possible for some of them to continue to stay in business?