American Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways face bankruptcy "as early as the winter if operating trends fail to stabilize,"

The parent companies of according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch also downgraded to B- from B Delta Air Lines' credit facility rating, reflecting "continued erosion of the airline's near-term cash flow generation potential that has resulted from extremely weak business travel demand and large year-over-year declines in passenger revenue per available seat mile." Regarding the Delta-Northwest merger, the ratings agency added that "many of the projected revenue synergies offered by the creation of a truly global route network are being offset by the collapse of premium business travel demand and intense fare competition across the entire industry."