That merger would put them ahead of Delta (that purchased Northeast, then merged with Western, bought Pan Am routes, and finally merged with Northwest) and United (that kept it simple and just merged with Capital with Continental).

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Transatlantic trade relations are already soured by the row over subsidies to Airbus and Boeing, so any concessions to the Europeans would face a tough time on Capitol Hill, even if the result was that Continental, Delta and Northwest would finally gain access to Heathrow.

ECONOMIST: World airlines

Then we did a crepe-fortified march southwest to the Jardin du Luxembourg before catching a last bus northwest to Les Invalides and, finally, the Eiffel Tower.

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