Mergers and service quality in the airline industry: A silver lining for air travelers?

•Mergers are associated with decreased service quality.•Mergers affect service quality in two ways, a direct effect, and an indirect effect via market concentration.•Late flights, mishandled bags, involuntary boarding denials, and flight cancellations all increase during the immediate quarters following mergers.•There is a silver lining for air travelers: services may improve and be better than the pre-merger levels after the aforementioned deterioration periods.