Scott Kirby thinks critics misunderstand his vision for merging United Airlines and American Airlines. I understand why he wants to do it. What I reject is his premise that a better airline would make up for the higher fares passengers would face once a major competitor disappears.

A United-American Merger Makes Sense For Scott Kirby. That Does Not Make It Good For Passengers.

One Mile At A Time brought a revealing Dallas Morning News interview with Kirby to my attention. The United Airlines CEO remains convinced that his proposed combination with American could have been a tremendous success, including for customers.

Before getting into that, a word about why Kirby appears so frequently on Live And Let’s Fly . Unlike Ed Bastian and Robert Isom, he puts himself out there constantly.…