Delta Air Lines was the one to initiate the last stage of consolidation of the US airline industry - long-awaited since the Carter deregulation Act of 1978 - with its merger with Northwest in 2008. The United/Continental and American/US Airways mergers followed in 2010 and 2013 respectively and the industry really started to make profitable returns from 2015. But Delta had the head start, and in the last decade has beaten its legacy competitors on most financial measures: superior margins, returns on equity, debt reduction, and returns to shareholders. Can this continue?
展开▼
