MSP spokesman: Merger will have little impact on local travelers

A spokesman for the Twin Cities airport says the planned merger of Continental and United Airlines should have little impact on local air travelers.

Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said United and Continental combined have only about a five percent share of passenger traffic at the airport.

"We don't expect it to have much impact here," Hogan said. "Both Continental and United have relatively small operations at MSP, and most of the people flying on those airlines from here are people who are either from the Twin Cities or whose destination is the Twin Cities."

In 2009, Continental and United carried about 1.1 million passengers to or from the Twin Cities. Most were on United flights between the Twin Cities and Chicago, where United has a major hub at the O'Hare airport.

If their merger is approved, United and Continental would form the world's biggest airline, topping Delta Air Lines. Delta became number one when it took over Northwest Airlines, which was headquartered in Minnesota.

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