Continental, United to Link in Star Alliance

Since Star was created in 1997, alliances have played an increasingly important role in the airline industry. They now account for roughly 60% of worldwide capacity, and helped to enable the Delta and Northwest merger.

Mann said the new combination puts AMR(AMR Quote - Cramer on AMR - Stock Picks) at a disadvantage and also marginalizes US Airways(LCC Quote - Cramer on LCC - Stock Picks), "particularly from a corporate travel buyer's perspective."

However US Airways, which had also discussed a merger with United, said Thursday that "our longstanding code-share relationship with United remains intact, as does our status as a Star Alliance member carrier." So far, it said, there have been no discussions of a code-share or other relationship with Continental.

Continental's move from Skyteam to Star also underscores the intense rivalries between alliances.

In a recent release, for instance, Oneworld, which includes American and British Airways, noted that it is "the airline grouping with the best financial track record." Over the past three years, Oneworld said, members' combined net profits totaled $8.8 billion, while SkyTeam members lost $6.9 billion and Star members lost $10.1 billion.

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