United Airlines / American Airlines

United Airlines' reported bid to acquire American Airlines drew immediate scrutiny and collapsed within weeks - but the competitive analysis tells a deeper story. This episode walks through Taimet's analysis of the transaction, which scored a 79 out of 100 - squarely in remedies territory - and layers in Gwendolyn's enforcement experience to explain why. Topics include the nationwide network carrier cluster market and what it means for corporate travel purchasers, illustrative city pair overlaps out of the 380 Taimet identified (including duopoly-to-monopoly routes through Chicago O'Hare and Reagan National), merger guideline implications from coordination risk to labor monopsony, the political overlay, and why state attorneys general may pose the biggest obstacle of all for any future attempt at this deal. Whether you're an investor assessing regulatory risk, an enforcer thinking about triage, or just someone who wants to understand how antitrust analysis actually works on a real transaction, this episode is a good place to start. Learn more about Taimet at https://www.taimet.com