Reading the paper everyday means seeing a headline that another airline merger is in the offing. The most recent wave of articles is on a United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAUA) merger with US Air (NYSE: LCC). It is yet another example of two carriers hoping that they can get together and save costs, without alienating customers in the process.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "The companies have identified more than $1.5 billion in potential cost savings and revenue enhancements from joining forces." The word "potential" is the key.

Airline employees who are in unions have a good chance of shutting down a merged airline if they think they will loss a ton of jobs. Pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics all have plenty of leverage. A combination of United and US Air would have almost $10 billion in revenue a quarter. It would not take a very long strike to eat through $1.5 billion of that.

The number of pending mergers is also almost certain to get some of them canceled by The Justice Department. Members of Congress who have employees on airline payrolls are also likely to take a position. Today, the US has at least five major carriers. If Delta (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest (NYSE: NWA) get married, that cuts consumer choice down by a lot.

Don't count on a United hook up with US Air. It is not likely to happen.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and author of the Ten Stocks Under $10 letter.

In a recent post, Luck of the Irish, we cited the favorable tax treatment in Ireland (among the lowest of all industrialized countries) as a key competitive advantage for Irish companies competing on a global basis.

Continuing that theme, Nick Lanyi suggests, "Genesis Lease Ltd. (NYSE: GLS) is an Irish-based aircraft-leasing company that is benefiting from a global boom in demand for commercial airplanes -- even as the U.S. economy slows."

The editor of High-Yield International states, "Airlines increasingly lease a portion of their aircraft fleet, rather than owning them." Here's look at a company with a double-digit dividend yield that is benefiting from this trend.

"Airplanes are very expensive, and they need to be replaced every few years. Especially for smaller airlines, it makes more financial sense to pay a regular monthly fee as part of a long-term lease than to shell out the money to buy an airplane.

"In addition, the leasing company is responsible for maintaining the plane -- relieving the airline of the need to recruit, retain and pay for a maintenance staff. Also, demand for air travel fluctuates over time, and leases give airlines more ability to limit excess capacity.

"Aircraft leasing is in a strong long-term growth trend. There are currently about 18,000 commercial aircraft operating worldwide, and that number is expected to double over the next 20-25 years. Why? Because China, India, Brazil, Russia and other emerging markets are growing so rapidly. As economies expand, so does airline traffic.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"Although high oil prices and a weak US dollar are hurting some vacation areas, these trends are also creating enormous opportunities; indeed, Mexico is a country where the dollar still gets you a fistful of pesos and a plane ticket doesn't cost as much as an oil well," says Frida Ghitis, contributing editor for Global Investing.

"Aeropuertos del Sureste (NYSE: ASR), known as ASUR, operates nine airports," explains Ghitis. "Want to visit Mexico's Caribbean coast, luxury resorts, and nearby Mayan ruins? Unless you go by sea, chances are that you'll have to stop by one of ASUR's airports.

"One of its airports is the newly expanded Cancun facility, which saw almost ten million passengers last year. Every passenger pays airport fees, and every dollar spent on food, drinks, or gifts at the airport adds to the bottom line.

"Most of the airports are in the Southeast of the country, but the company also runs the facilities in the key tourist destinations of Oaxaca and Huatulco on the Pacific. Altogether, some 13 million passengers traveled through the company's airports last year.

As regular readers may have observed I am one to mull things over a while before offering up a slice of investment opinion pie. A few weeks ago Barron's (subscription required) ran a cover story titled "Open Skies" discussing the imminent deregulation of trans-Atlantic air routes.

In this context they reviewed the potential for airline mergers, (something I have written about before in Why no airline mergers? Finally the answer...) and they commented on who the winners and losers might be. The article highlights the fact that there has been a 30 year agreement in place, "the Bermuda airline agreement" that limited Heathrow-U.S. air traffic to just four airlines: two British and two U.S. Other foreign airlines were barred flying to the U.S. except from their own nation's airports.

Under terms of a new agreement cast last April U.S and European Union airlines departing 27 nations will be able to fly direct routes. Barron's does a fairly thorough analysis in my view of the potential success among various airlines and those that may come up short.

"There are several ways to play the airline industry without buying the airlines themselves." explains Benjamin Shepard, a research editor for Personal Finance. Here, he looks seven stocks that are poised to profit as the sector "gets its wings again."

Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL), he notes, is the largest producer of woven carbon-fiber sheets, which are extremely important for both Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner, as well as for the new Airbus A380. He rates thes tock a buy up to 25.

Aircastle (NYSE: AYR) and Genesis Lease (NYSE: GLS) are both aircraft leasing companies and publicly traded partnerships, and both are holdings in the Personal Finance model portfolio. He notes, "As airlines continue their recovery and passenger volume rises, older planes must be replaced and new planes added to the fleets."

Both partnerships, he notes, are based in Ireland and lease to both passenger airlines and cargo companies around the world. He says, ""Aircastle and Genesis are excellent bets on the continued growth of air travel and pay dividends of around 6% and 8%, respectively."

Though JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU)'s Chief Executive Dave Barger seems to be bringing much needed focus to the plucky airline whose reputation was damaged by service disruptions in February, investors should continue to avoid the stock for now.

JetBlue currently trades at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 21, higher than Southwest Airlines Corp. (NYSE: LUV) and American Airlines parent AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), so the shares are no bargain. Plus, Barger told the Wall Street Journal that he wasn't interested in selling the airline, which rules out any buyout premium.

"I wouldn't welcome any overture. In an acquisition, the product would get lost. The focus on costs would get lost," he told the paper. "Most importantly, this relationship we have with our crew members, 11,500 strong, [would be lost]. I just don't think that's a good solution for us."

Delta Airlines Inc. (OTC:DALRQ) Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein isn't expecting a pat on the back when the airline emerges from bankruptcy. In fact, he's not expecting much of anything.

Grinstein, who is planning to step down when Delta emerges from Chapter 11, declined all management equity awards, payments or severance that he otherwise would be entitled. When asked why he's forgoing the money, Grinstein told the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that Delta "is a terrific company, and I wanted to see it succeed if I could help." He will continue collect a base salary of $338,000.

How refreshing to find a CEO that understand that it's not all about him. The Journal points out that Grinstein already has amassed a fortune from his business career.

Of course, Delta's employees deserve to be rewarded for their sacrifices.

When Delta emerges from bankruptcy in May about 39,000 workers will share $480 million in lump-sum payouts and equity, according to the Associated Press, adding that 1,200 management employees will hold a 2.5 percent stake in the company valued at $240 million. Pilots and flight dispatchers, who are represented by unions, will not receive lump sum and equity payouts but will participate in profit sharing and rewards program in exchange for wage concession.

Once Delta emerges from bankruptcy, investors should avoid the stock for a long time. The future remains as cloudy as ever for the airline industry.