United, US Airways partnership approved WASHINGTON (AP) =97 The government on Wednesday approved a proposal by= United=20 Airlines and US Airways to sell seats on each other's flights, coordinate=20 schedules and offer reciprocal perks such as frequent flier miles,=20 effective immediately. In its decision, the Transportation Department said= =20 it gave the go-ahead to the two struggling airlines because the partnership= =20 would increase competition and benefit travelers. "We have not yet seen=20 evidence that the agreements will unreasonably restrict either airline's=20 incentives and ability to compete independently or would be likely to=20 result in collusion on fares or service levels," the decision said. The=20 regulators, though, said they would monitor the so-called code-sharing=20 agreement closely and would take action against the airlines if they found= =20 the venture dampened competition. The "code-share" term comes from the=20 practice of putting an airline's two-letter industry code onto another's=20 flights. Glenn Tilton, United's chief executive, said the decision was=20 great news for the airline. "Our customers will enjoy expanded service=20 options and frequent-flier benefits, as well as access to each carrier's=20 airport clubs," he said. The airlines also agreed to some restrictions to limit anticompetitive=20 behavior and promised they would compete independently on fares and=20 service. Small air carriers oppose the agreement, fearing the bigger=20 airlines will be difficult to compete against because of their marketing=20 clout and dominance of airport facilities. "I would call it a virtual=20 merger," said Ed Faberman, executive director of the Air Carrier=20 Association of America, which represents smaller airlines. "There's no=20 other industry that this would be permitted in." Smaller airlines are also= =20 concerned the government will approve another proposal by Continental,=20 Delta and Northwest to code share, giving the five airlines about 60% of=20 the market, Faberman said. United and US Airways have about 20%, he said.=20 Kristi Tucker, Delta spokeswoman, said the decision indicated the=20 Transportation Department is likely to approve their proposal. "It=20 recognizes that marketing alliances are pro-competitive and pro-consumer,"= =20 Tucker said. The United-US Airways alliance is intended to bring in more=20 revenue to the financially strapped companies by combining US Airways'=20 strength in north-south flights on the East Coast with United's strength in= =20 cross-country flights. US Airways, the nation's seventh-largest carrier,=20 filed for bankruptcy Aug. 11 and has cut costs dramatically since then,=20 eliminating hundreds of flights on unprofitable routes, expanded the use of= =20 smaller, cheaper regional jets and extracted wage concessions from its= workers. United, the No. 2 airline, has said it will also have to seek bankruptcy=20 protection if it can't cut its labor costs. Under the restrictions, the airlines cannot: =95 Code share on local traffic on routes where both offer nonstop service,= =20 such as Philadelphia-Los Angeles. =95 Code-share on nonstop flights to the same destination from Dulles=20 International Airport or Reagan Washington National Airport, except for=20 flights between Washington, LaGuardia Airport and Boston's Logan=20 International Airport. =95 Have different fares on routes served by only one airline; =95 Fail to act independently when establishing their frequent flier= programs=20 and bidding corporate contracts. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (ReadyMix) http://www.readymix.co.tt/ (ReadyMix Cement Ltd) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************