The bigger airlines get, the worse they become

IF THERE’S one lesson we’ve learned from the recent history of the airline industry, it’s this: The bigger airlines get, the worse they become. The prices get higher, the seats smaller, the service ever snarkier.

The mergers over the past 15 years that produced the “big three” of United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines (eliminating Continental, Northwest and US Airways) – which, along with Southwest Airlines, now dominate the market – have not done Americans any favours. We’ve ended up with airlines that offer less for more and have become better than ever at getting bailouts from Congress.

That’s the context in which JetBlue Airways is now seeking to buy Spirit Airlines, the nation’s largest ultra-low-cost airline. The deal, if permitted to go through, would make JetBlue the fifth-largest airline in the country and further reduce competition in the industry.