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1	Is there still a Southwest effect? bin Salam, Najmus Sakib 22 May 2012 (has links) The US airline industry is going through a period of consolidation through mergers between leading airlines. A number of recent mergers have been approved by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) based on the presence of Southwest Airlines in merger-affected markets. In doing so, the DOJ makes a key assumption that Southwest is unresponsive to the reduced competition when its competitors merge. We find that Southwest raised fares more in markets where Delta/Northwest and US/America-West used to operate jointly between 2005-2010. However, Southwest's fares either decreased or rose by less if facing direct or adjacent competition from a low-cost carrier (LCC). Furthermore, Southwest is now merging with AirTran Airways, its biggest LCC competitor. This implies that the DOJ should not rely on Southwest Airlines as a post-merger deterrent to fare increases. / Graduation date: 2012 Airline Economics Southwest Competition Southwest-Effect Mergers DOJ Antitrust Market-Power Southwest Airlines Co. Airlines -- Rates -- United States Competition -- United States Antitrust law -- United States