They started saying things like this a long time ago, but at the moment which two airlines are losing the most money, BA and UA. Is bigger necessarily better or are the big carriers too much of a dinosaur. Wouldn't smaller companies, linked under a larger umbrella company, be better. Still able gain from the synergy of the group, but small enough moe manoeuvrable in teh market place. Each company would be an individually managed business unit and expected to make a profit, easier to manipulate, and easier to get shot off if it doesn't show a return. Smaller groups of employees would be easier to control, they wouldn't all be able to go on strike at the same time. BA and UA look at losing large ammounts of money if their pilot work force walk out, so they end up caving in and paying out large salaries that may or may not be deserved by the individual employees.