ITIF：2025年向司法部和运输部提出的关于航空运输竞争的意见报告（英文版）

Nowhere is the gap between punditry and reality greater than on the subject of U.S. airline consolidation and competition. Between 2008 and 2014, the Department of Justice (DOJ) approved a series of mergers that reduced the number of large U.S. airlines from eight to four, as Delta Air Lines acquired Northwest Airlines, United Airlines merged with Continental Airlines, American Airlines combined with US Airways, and Southwest Airlines acquired AirTran Airways. U.S. carriers argued at the time