Valentine’s Day has brought the announcement of another special engagement…this one appears more arranged marriage than fairytale wedding.

American Airlines and US Airways are set to be joined and reports suggest that US will take American’s name.

But how could this relationship pan out? Well, US Airways have been doing pretty well, whilst American have struggled; US may have the upper hand in how the relationship is run. This looks like it will be the case, with US boss, Doug Parker, set to ‘wear the pants’. This may lead to a relationship where the strengths of the more successful partner are transferred to the union. Another reason for optimism is that they also appear to come from similar backgrounds, with a mix of US and international destinations and the same 3-star quality rankings.

They appear to have more in common than previous aviation marriages (ahem BA/Iberia). If they can take advantage of the resultant merger’s savings and efficiencies and use these to create an enhanced and seamless customer experience, recasting American Airlines as the American aviation brand, then perhaps this could yet be a match made in heaven…after all (to kill the romance) arranged marriages are statistically less likely to lead to divorce!

Adrian Pring, London