In Business This Week

READY FOR TRANSEUROPE AIR?

Is it AirEurope in the making? Four European airlines--KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Swissair, Scandinavian Airlines System, and Austrian Airlines--say they may form a new megacarrier with 20% of Europe's market. Merging would save money, but some 20,000 of the airlines' 70,000 workers may have to be laid off to match U. S. staffing levels. Headquarters would likely be in the Netherlands, which has a treaty allowing carriers to fly into any U. S. city.EDITED BY THANE PETERSON