If fast and free wireless Internet is a priority when you book a hotel room, don’t expect speedy Wi-Fi at pricey chain hotels.

That was a key conclusion in a new study by the website HotelWiFiTest, which collected and analyzed Wi-Fi speeds from 1,309 hotels across the country.

The study found that independent hotels are more likely to offer free Wi-Fi than upscale chains such as Sheraton, Marriott and Hilton, which offer free Wi-Fi at only a limited number of properties. For his part, a Marriott spokesman declined to comment, saying he does not know how the study was conducted.

The study praised Quality Inn, a low-cost brand operated by Choice Hotels International, saying the chain offers free Wi-Fi in more than 75 percent of its hotels at speeds faster than most higher-priced hotels.

Fast and free Wi-Fi is important to guests, especially business travelers, said Dan Sweiger, brand strategy director for Quality Inn.

“It’s one of the many ways our guests get their money’s worth at Quality,” he said.

Airline mergers

The spate of airline mergers over the last decade raised fears among consumer advocates that the consolidation would kill competition and lead to higher fares.

In fact, the results have been a bit more mixed, according to a study released this month.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s report found that competition increased slightly on the nation’s most popular air routes and at the country’s largest airports. Competition decreased on less popular routes and in smaller airports.

For example, the route from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Los Angeles International Airport was served in 2007 by three “effective competitors,” defined in the study as airlines with at least a 5 percent share of the overall market. By 2012, the number of competitors increased to five, the study said.

The study looked at the changes in the industry from 2007 to 2012, the period when Delta Air Lines acquired Northwest Airlines, United Airlines merged with Continental Airlines and Southwest Airlines acquired AirTran. American and US Airways announced a merger in 2013 but have yet to complete it.

The main reason the mergers have not slashed competition, according to the study, has been the growth of low-cost carriers such as Southwest.

“We found that since 2007, low-cost airlines have expanded into the largest passenger markets, adding new competitors in some markets where mergers may have reduced competition,” the study concluded.

But Diana Moss, vice president of the American Antitrust Institute, said the biggest effect of the mergers has been felt at small and medium-size airports.

The GAO report noted that the route between Boise, Idaho, and Bozeman, Mont., was served by one major airline in 2012, down from three in 2007.

“That is where the story is,” she said. “It’s how the airlines are behaving in the individual markets.”

About that 20-grand flight …

Later this year, fliers with a taste for luxury will be able to jet from London to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in a three-room flying penthouse on Etihad Airways.

The compartment in the airline’s A380 planes includes a bedroom, a living room and a bathroom, with service provided by butlers trained at the Savoy Academy in London. The cost for a one-way trip: about $21,000.

The airline plans to eventually add the flying apartment, known as “the Residence,” to all 10 of its A380s, including the jet that will fly from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Abu Dhabi next year.

It is the latest example of airlines pushing the envelope on luxury: Emirates Airlines has added two shower spas, plus an onboard lounge, to its A380s. Korean Air reserved the second level of its A380 for “prestige class” passengers, along with a cocktail lounge and a duty-free shop.

Etihad CEO James Hogan said he came up with the idea for the three-room apartment as a way to differentiate his A380 from its competitors.

“We looked at the Asian carriers and some of our neighbors and looked at what they had done with their A380s,” he said. “So I threw in the curveball, saying that I wanted a penthouse” in the plane.

Hogan said bookings are coming in fast for the launch of the Residence Dec. 27. “It’s about innovation and how you can make money,” he said. “That is a moneymaker.”