<< Why don't they simply slim down their present carrier >> I recall several European airports where all carriers were handled by the same checkin staff at the same checkin counters (each airline maintained 2-3 supervisory staff for complex ticketing or problems)Wouldnt that system save considerable money iso each airline dupicating each other all the time? I do notice with the code sharing that this idea is being carried out to some small extent at a few airports.Dennis