Yep Sunfish I couldnt have put it better.
A merger would simply increase the size of the monopoly.
Anyway it can only happen in Howards dreams.
Paper today in Singapore under the heading "Howard wants close ties for Qantas and SIA" got this answer from an SQ spokesman-- "Qantas and SIA are competitors and that means consumers win from having a choice". This is a very nice way of saying 'forget it mate'.