Seattle Times- Airline boards are under pressure from hedge funds and other investors to find a way to boost share prices that fell calamitously last year as oil prices skyrocketed. <\/p>\n
Four major U.S. carriers, including United Airlines, appear closer to consummating deals that would radically remake the airline industry, say people close to the airlines.<\/p>\n
Chicago-based United is in merger talks with Continental Airlines and is poised to seal its deal if Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines combine first, sources say.<\/p>\n
The deals could be announced as early as this month, provided carriers are able to resolve a host of issues, ranging from fights over how to share the executive suite to offering concessions to labor.<\/p>\n
The sequence in which events unfold is crucial to United’s chances of finally completing the megadeal that Chief Executive Glenn Tilton has long craved, experts say.<\/p>\n