How will it affect competition in the local market?
It’s unclear how much opportunity the merger may provide for a Southwest, JetBlue or other carriers to enter the Twin Cities. Northwest and its regional airlines dominate the local air travel market, carrying about 60 percent of travelers whose trips start or end here. The number two airline at the airport is Sun Country. In 2007, it carried about 1.5 million passengers through the Twin Cities airport. That’s about equal to one-twentieth of Northwest’s action at the airport. Last year, Northwest took nearly 27 million passengers through the airport.
