Airlines try, try again on trans-Atlantic plan

0 Comments | USA TODAY, August, 2008 | by Dan Reed

American Airlines and British Airways for the third time are seeking government permission to combine their trans-Atlantic operations, along with those of Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian.

They seek a U.S. Department of Transportation grant of antitrust immunity allowing them to share sensitive marketing data and to jointly allocate capacity and set prices on all their trans-Atlantic flights, the airlines said Thursday. Two previous efforts failed when they refused to give up hundreds of "slots" -- time-specific landing and takeoff rights -- at London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest and most lucrative hub.

The difference this time, says American CEO Gerard Arpey, is that U.S.-Heathrow service no longer is limited to just American, BA, United and Virgin...