What a Trump Administration Could Mean for Airlines and Mergers

In the wake of the election, anyone with a vested or even a vague interest in travel should be asking themselves the same question:

Will a second Trump Administration have an impact on travel?

Count on it.

And I’m not talking about the border issue.

The one thing to remember about Donald Trump is that he is very business-friendly. His cabinet, including the head of the Department of Transportation, is likely to be made in his image. Or at the very least, it will adhere to his agenda.

With its involvement and opposition to the merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines, and JetBlue and the Northeast Alliance with American Airlines, the current Biden Administration has shown that it is not that business-friendly. I’m not here to pass judgment on whether that is politically or financially correct.

But it’s only logical to think that the new administration will be more friendly toward mergers in the airline industry.

And that, in and of itself, would change the face of travel.

The Biden Administration used words like collusion and anti-competitive and monopolies. And they could be right, because in the end it’s all about the pricing for the consumer. It’s all about having the option like a low-budget carrier like Spirit Airlines.

Perhaps there will be less scrutiny of such collaborations. Perhaps airlines will not have to jump through so many hoops. Perhaps a change in administrations will lead JetBlue to make another run at a merger now that the environment appears more conducive.

Then we’ll have the eternal debate about whether a merger is the right move.

But that’s a topic for another column.

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