{"podcast":{"title":"Airline Weekly Lounge","slug":"airline-weekly-lounge-47251","podcast_index_feed_id":47251,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/SKIFT6592675012","website_url":"https://skift.com/skift-travel-podcasts/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/fc77e778-caef-11ec-9bec-1774d94e5b30/image/4df687945774e1b29d8fbb84d0e4e262.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Skift","episode_count":431,"summary":"The editors of Airline Weekly discuss the most interesting developments within the commercial airline industry. In keeping with Airline Weekly’s style, conversation generally centers on one question: How do you make money in this industry? Presented by WEX.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-11T18:22:08.508431+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/airline-weekly-lounge-47251"},"episode":{"title":"Could United Really Merge with American Airlines?","slug":"could-united-really-merge-with-american-airlines","published_at":"2026-04-16T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/airline-weekly-lounge-47251/could-united-really-merge-with-american-airlines","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/airline-weekly-lounge-47251","url":"https://skift.com/skift-travel-podcasts/","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SKIFT7008245864.mp3","summary":"Will two of America's biggest airlines become one? Gordon and Jay dig into whether a United-American mega-merger is actually on the table and ask what further consolidation would mean for the industry. Plus: Qantas cuts capacity and Korean Air's latest financials. Follow the Hosts: Gordon Smith – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jay Shabat – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Meghna Maharishi - ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Airline Weekly LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/airline-weekly/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/Airline_Weekly/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/airlineweekly/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WhatsApp: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SkiftNews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and never miss an update from the airline and travel industries. 00:32 United American Merger Rumor01:59 Regulatory and Fuel Context05:05 Duffy Comments and Caveats06:26 Consolidation Speculation08:32 Qantas Fuel Hedging Shock09:47 Network Shifts and Airspace13:15 More Headlines and Break14:23 Korean Air Q1 Overview15:59 Passenger Demand Drivers19:27 Cargo Boom and Other Units23:19 Asiana Merger Clarified25:29 Wrap Up and Subscribe","meta_description":"Will two of America's biggest airlines become one? Gordon and Jay dig into whether a United-American mega-merger is actually on the table and ask what fur…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1658,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/airline-weekly-lounge-47251/episodes/could-united-really-merge-with-american-airlines/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/airline-weekly-lounge-47251/could-united-really-merge-with-american-airlines.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}