The only "Alliance"
Any Economic Alliance can be compared to a single country. It isn't new, and they don't last, historically; the EU hasn't got off the ground yet.
Trading vectors are simply another lens to look through. The more there are the more one must stretch credulity to gain reasonable comparisons.
Nations are less interdependent now than in 1945. More stuff to trade, more places on line in manufacturing, resource, technology, etc. This dilution of resources and goods makes for a fluid and volatile political landscape. One thing about aviation, International travel will diminish markedly in the years to come.
United Air Lines is basically four separate concerns and one of them just died. Intrastate carriage remains successful, and because the US is geographically quite large, Aviation will be important here always.
In a perverse way, the EU is killing European aviation, as it diminishes the historical importances in the region. The EU will not work in the way it was intended. It is a "union" supposedly with common goals. Look at the history of unions, guilds and alliances. There is never enough glue to keep a mob of greed together.
Notwithstanding the illegality of determing people's future by strangers, unelected and perverse to the best interests of the "represented", when said potentates vote themselves treasure because they can, the game is up.
United still wants to be all wings to all people, it is an absurd idea.
Fortunately for the citizens, some countries are too large to support despotic government forever. It is a larger example of United's moment in the Sun.