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The Department of Transportation has given tentative approval to the unification of Delta’s existing transatlantic joint ventures with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic.
The enlarged antitrust-immune alliance would not include Alitalia or Czech Air, both of which are part of Delta’s current joint venture with Air France-KLM but were not included in the application for the expanded partnership.
In its tentative decision issued Friday, the DOT said that a merger of Delta’s separate joint ventures would cause no significant change in the competitive situation of the transatlantic air market since almost all joint ventures the airlines are contemplating are already immunized under existing agreements. Approval of antitrust immunity gives airlines permission to jointly schedule, market, sell and operate flights.
The European Commission approved the merged alliance in February.
In an unusual step, the carriers did not issue a press release following the DOT’s favorable decision. But in an email Monday, Delta spokeswoman Aimee Greaves said that the carriers are awaiting final DOT approval “in order to deepen their strategic partnership to offer customers a more extensive network of flights and destinations on both sides of the Atlantic.”
As part of the tentative approval, the DOT would require the Delta-Virgin Atlantic-Air France/KLM alliance to provide a detailed assessment after five years of the benefits delivered by the partnership, which would be independently reviewed by regulators. In particular, the DOT said it would focus on competitive concerns at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, where the SkyTeam alliance, which includes Delta and Air France-KLM, control 59% of daily arrival and departure slots.
The tentative antitrust award follows the DOT final approval’s on July 21 of an American-Qantas joint venture across the Pacific.
Source: travelweekly.com
