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  3. The U. S. Justice Department announced Friday that it will allow United and Continental Airlines to merge. Now all that is neede

The U. S. Justice Department announced Friday that it will allow United and Continental Airlines to merge. Now all that is neede

admin2015-03-25  68
问题     The U. S. Justice Department announced Friday that it will allow United and Continental Airlines to merge. Now all that is needed to complete the $3.2 billion deal is a formal vote by the both airlines’ shareholders, which is set to happen Sept. 17. Once approved, the merger will make the combined company the largest airline in the U. S. , besting Delta after its merger with Northwest Airlines in 2008. What does this mean for consumers?
    The merger, travel experts say, may result in rate increases and route reductions for the new airline, but despite how this may sound; the purported effects are not entirely a bad thing. Route reductions, according to Seth Kaplan of Airline Weekly, are likely to be minimal since United and Continental don’t traditionally service the same areas. Both carriers operate flights throughout Canada, Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. However, United’s domestic service is concentrated in the Midwest and Pacific, while Continental services the Northeast regions.
    Additionally, Continental’s hub cities are based in Houston; Newark, N. J. ; and Cleveland. United’s hubs include Washington D. C. ; Chicago; Denver and San Francisco. Kaplan believes that Continental’s Cleveland hub may be in jeopardy as United’s larger and more powerful presence in Chicago’s O’Hare airport may render a second hub in that area redundant. However, Kaplan says, this is likely the only major hub that will be affected.
    If the company does decide to shut down hubs in smaller markets, the closures may actually help discount carriers, such as JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, cash in. "Discount carriers can make some headway in the smaller hubs," travel consultant Lisa Fantino of Wanderlust Women Travel explains. Take, for example, the Justice Department’s requirement that Continental transfer take-off and landing permission at Newark Liberty Airport to discount carrier Southwest Airlines before the Justice Department would approve the merger.
    Fantino does point out; however, that frequent fliers may be affected by the merger since any reduction in available flights is likely to make point redemption more difficult than it already is. "In the short-term, I think they will offer some redemption bonuses in the spring as they look to consolidate their frequent flier programs," Fantino explains, before adding, "in the long term you are going to find more passengers looking for fewer available seats. "
    As for prices themselves, the existence of the low-cost carriers and the fact that Delta, American and US Airways remain competitors, will prevent potential fare increases from climbing sky-high. "Fares could rise modestly in some markets where the two airlines currently compete," Kaplan says, citing Houston and Chicago as two examples. "They will also likely reduce their combined seat capacity, and that too can push fares up. As with anything, less supply with constant demand will mean higher prices. "
What can we learn about the Continental’s Cleveland hub?
选项 A、It will be in charge by United.
B、It will face a threat from United.
C、It will be replaced by O’Hare airport.
D、It will set up a second hub in its area.
答案B
解析 推理判断题。由题干关键词the Continental’s Cleveland hub定位至第三段第三句。该句提及，卡普兰认为，鉴于联合航空位于芝加哥的规模更大更强势的奥黑尔国际机场的存在可能导致该区域其他航站中心显得多余，大陆航空的克利夫兰中心可能处于危险之中，故答案为[B]。[C]认为奥黑尔国际机场会取代大陆航空的克利夫兰中心，故排除；原文并未提及联合航空将掌控大陆航空的克利夫兰中心，故排除[A]；原文并未提及大陆航空的克利夫兰中心本身会再修建第二个航空中心，故排除[D]。
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