This article presents new studies of the literature about the effects of mergers to the social welfare of the users of air transport, more specifically, as the process impacts the price of the tickets and on the frequency of flights. The results suggest that mergers between legacy carriers in the USA has caused significant increases in the prices of the tickets and reduction in the flight frequency. In addition, mergers seem to result in reduction of prices when low-cost companies are involved, except for tickets purchased with few days in advance. Finally, mergers between network carriers and low-cost carriers are non-benefit to consumers, however the impact depends on the competition between the carriers previously in specific routes.
mergers; air transportation; ticket prices; flight frequencies; social welfare