Airline CEOs defend merger before Senate panel

By DAVID KOENIG

AP Airlines Writer

The CEOs of American Airlines and US Airways are reassuring a Senate panel that their merger would not lead to fewer flights or lost jobs in the lawmakers' states.

The merger would create the world's biggest airline and provide more competition for United and Delta, the CEOs said.

But consumer advocates told the Senate antitrust subcommittee Tuesday that the merger would lead to higher fares and less service to midsize cities.

Diana Moss of the American Antitrust Institute said American and US Airways want to compete with giant global airlines. "I understand that -- that's where the business is going and that's where the dollars are," she said. "But we have to find a way not to sacrifice U.S. consumers on the altar of global competition."

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