ABSTRACT
The almost universally accepted wisdom is that there is just too much competition and with at least some consolidation profitability would come to aviation. The battle cries for consolidation are heard louder during down periods of the aviation business cycle. And so, in October 27 1993 during the next-to-last cyclical downturn of the industry, stated authoritatively 'There are, by common consent, far too many airlines trying to serve too few passengers already'. The implication was that airline consolidation is 'needed'. The other airlines that signed the petition were Austrian Airlines, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Finnair, TAP Air Portugal and Hapag-Lloyd Flug. The thinking that we have excess capacity and for that reason consolidation is necessary to restore the financial balance of the airline industry has been the prevalent mode of thinking for a very long time. There are various thoughts behind the universal acceptance of the fact that consolidation is good and will improve the financial condition of the airline industry.
