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Related Newslog Items 28 August 2010 United Airlines and Continental Airlines said they expect their proposed merger to close by 1 October after the U.S. Department of Justice ended its antitrust investigation. DOJ indicated that a deal by United/Continental to lease gates and facilities at Newark to Southwest Airlines "resolves ... principal concerns regarding the competitive effects" of the tie-up. Continental and United pledged to "continue to serve all the communities both airlines currently serve. The slot pair transfer is expected to have minimal impact on combined carrier's route network." 27 July 2010 The European Commission concluded that the proposed Continental-United merger "would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it." In the United States, the Department of Justice continues to examine the proposed tie-up. 21 July 2010 The U.S. Department of Transportation made final its approval for antitrust immunity among oneworld partners. American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia now can implement a transatlantic joint venture and join oneworld members Finnair and Royal Jordanian in tighter alliance partnerships. Like the European Commission, DOT set conditions on approval, notably the transfer of slots at London Heathrow to competitors for new transatlantic services.
14 July 2010 The European Commission accepted "remedies" proposed by American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia for their planned transatlantic joint venture. Concessions offered by the airlines and accepted by EC include surrendering slots at London Heathrow or London Gatwick airports for flights to Boston, New York, Dallas and Miami; making available slots at New York JFK for services to London; and combining fares, offering connections and linking loyalty programs with other airlines. "We have analyzed these commitments, we have consulted other players in the market and we have concluded that the remedies the airlines have introduced will secure for passengers the benefits of the alliance together with the prospect of additional services provided by other operators," according EC vice president responsible for competition policy Joaquín Almunia. The U.S. Department of Transportation tentatively approved the proposed antitrust-immunized JV. Final approval is expected soon. 6 July 2010 Alitalia formally began participating in a transatlantic joint venture also including Air France-KLM Group and Delta Air Lines. Alitalia officials will "immediately" join the joint venture's working groups responsible for sales, frequent flyer programs and several other areas, according to a statement. "Alitalia also will be included in all joint venture initiatives, including joint sales contracts, which launched in January 2009." According to the carriers, the JV now encompasses 26 percent of transatlantic capacity with 250 daily flights, including various codeshare flights to and from Alitalia's Rome hub. Alitalia in 2009 signed a new deal with and agreed to sell a minority stake to Air France KLM. 8 June 2010 The oneworld alliance formally invited India's Kingfisher Airlines to join. Oneworld members expect Kingfisher to begin full participation within 18 to 24 months. Oneworld founder British Airways reached a bilateral codeshare deal with Kingfisher, with "implementation later this month," according to BA CEO Willie Walsh. 8 April 2010 British Airways and Spain's Iberia signed a merger agreement and expect the transaction to be completed "in late 2010." The proposed merger, first publicly announced in November 2009, requires approval from the European Commission and both companies' shareholders. After approval, BA and Iberia would "retain their current operations and operate under their individual brands," according to a joint statement. 2 April 2010 American Airlines, British Airways and three other oneworld allies will accept U.S. regulators' conditions for antitrust immunity. Though the carriers told the U.S. Department of Transportation that they object to slot divestures required for approval, they nonetheless asked DOT to finalize the tentative decision "as quickly as possible." During a public comment period that closed this week, Virgin Atlantic again requested "a wider spectrum of remedies" to help maintain balanced competition, including "checks" on British Airways' "considerable market power over corporate customers." 16 March 2010 British Airways announced contingency plans ahead of a planned cabin crew union strike called for 20-22 March. The airline intends to serve "60 percent of customers originally booked to fly on these days" by operating 60 percent of longhaul and "some" shorthaul flights from Heathrow (supplemented by 22 leased aircraft and crews); "all" longhaul and "more than half" of shorthaul flights from Gatwick; and "all" flights to and from London City airport. Flights by BA subsidiary OpenSkies are unaffected. BA is offering rebooking options and "has also agreed with 40 other carriers that customers can be rebooked free of charge during the actual strike period," according to the airline. For a second strike planned for 27-30 March, the airline has not changed or cancelled the "the vast majority" of scheduled flights. 11 March 2010 To win approval from European regulators for a joint venture, AA, BA and Iberia agreed to give up slots at London and/or New York airports for transatlantic services, according to the European Commission. Such slots at London Gatwick, London Heathrow and New York JFK would "facilitate entry of competitors" on six U.S.-U.K. routes. The three oneworld partners also are willing to "enter into fare combinability agreements with competitors" on routes identified as being at risk for competition loss and "enter into special prorate agreements for behind and beyond traffic" on those city pairs, according to EC. EC through 10 April is accepting public comments on the airlines' commitments and, subject to those comments, "intends to adopt a decision" that would make binding for 10 years those commitments. In its tentative approval of the American Airlines-British Airways-Iberia antitrust immunity request, the U.S. Department of Transportation also set conditions that include slot transfers from the trio to other competitors interested in operating transatlantic service. DOT through the end of March is collecting comments on its decision.
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