Airlines
The Airlines' Scores Are In, and They Aren't Pretty
The big mergers haven't created carriers with better on-time or baggage-handling records, a report says
Check-in at Frontier Airlines at Denver International Airport in March.
Photographer: RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Letting U.S. airlines merge into behemoths was billed as a win-win: The carriers would become financially stable for the first time, and consumers would benefit from vast improvements in air travel.
Well, the first part of that arrangement has worked out beautifully, with airlines posting robust profits amid a plunge in the price of oil. But travelers aren't reaping the promised advantages, according to an annual ranking of airline performance.