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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

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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. "
According to the passage, the merger of United and Continental Airlines
选项 A、was initially suggested by the U. S. Justice Department.
B、was identically approved by the both airlines’ shareholders.
C、is to follow the example of Delta and Northwest Airlines.
D、will not become a reality until the formal vote on Sept. 17.
答案D
解析 事实细节题。由题干关键词the merger of United and Continental Airlines定位至第一段首句。该段第二句提及，完成这笔32亿美元的交易仅需要一个双方公司股东的正式投票，该投票定于9月17日进行，故答案为[D]。首段首句只是提及美国司法部同意二者的合并，并非此合并是由美国司法部倡议的，故排除[A]；由首段第二句可知，两家公司的持股人还没有进行投票，故排除[B]；首段末句只是提及该合并将使此新组合的公司打败在2008年与西北航空公司合并的达美航空公司，并未提及该合并在追随西北航空与达美航空的合并，故排除[C]。
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