Full article on economist.com
It may be coming late to the consolidation party, but Virgin Atlantic is confident that its new partnership with Delta Air Lines will deliver the same benefits that rival carriers have drawn from their "metal neutral" alliances. Quantifying the value of such alliances—where two or more airlines share revenue, and collaborate through cost-cutting and marketing initiatives—is tricky, but in the case of British Airways (BA) and American Airlines, which joined forces in 2010, it is clear that their combined 57% share of capacity between London Heathrow and America amounts to a giant slice of the transatlantic pie...
