Delta's Kelly said the airlines have consistently said there would be no furloughs as a result of the merger. Whether employees would be cut because of high fuel prices would be a separate issue, she said.

Frank Werner, a Fordham University professor who has been studying the proposed merger, said politics is playing a role in the merger's timing. "They are hustling to get this done before the Bush administration leaves," he said.

The airlines "chose to announce this merger in 2008 in part because of their belief that the Bush administration has been very pro-management," Werner said. "Historically, Democrats have been more critical of mergers," and even a White House under Republican John McCain may be more skeptical of the benefits of a reduced number of major carriers, he said.

Werner said that given how fares have risen and routes reduced this year, "I'm a little bit surprised there hasn't been more outcry from the public," he said. But the answer may be that fuel prices have risen so high consumers actually have sympathy for the carriers, rather than resentment, he said.

"Every individual is hurting too," he said. "So maybe the merger is an easier sell for the airlines."