Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 33: Is Virgin Merging With Alaska?

If the U.S. airline market were to see even more consolidation, what kind of effect would it have? That’s one question we consider in a discussion about the possible acquisition of Virgin America by another airline. We also talk about possible consolidation in Europe, where it’s a more urgent need. There are reasonable airline pairings to be made there, including IAG tying up with Finnair. But will it ever happen? Virgin Atlantic, meanwhile, had a decent 2015. Will the profits continue in 2016 with Norwegian breathing down its neck? And lastly, Israel’s El Al had one of its best years ever despite a host of challenges—but Israel’s open skies agreement, which ushered in more competition, doesn’t seem to be a challenge at all.