United Airlines open to merger idea: Report

UAL Corporation, the parent company of United Airlines, remains open to the idea of a merger with another carrier, accord to a BusinessWeek report.

United Airlines has one of the thinnest profit margins in the industry, and has been exploring asset sales as well as spinning off Mileage Plus, its frequent-flier programme.

United is on record as saying it plans to rely on its existing fleet of 460 aircraft until 2015 or 2016. This comes at a time when rival airlines have been busy placing orders for new aircraft.

There has been talk of a merger with Delta Air Lines, with some shareholders reportedly pressing the issue (See previous report), but Delta negated any talk about doing a deal with UAL earlier this month.

Investors and analysts however, continue to think that Delta is the most logical choice for United Airlines, followed by US Air.