American Airlines and Delta Air Lines discuss industry consolidation - Brief Article

Airline Industry Information, June 8, 2000

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2000 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

American Airlines' parent company AMR Corp has apparently held preliminary discussions with Delta Air Lines regarding industry consolidation in the USA.

The 'wide-ranging' talks apparently also touched on the issue of mergers according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The newspaper also reported that a merger between American Airlines and Delta Air Lines was not likely to receive a warm welcome from the US government, with the Justice Department having already launched a lawsuit against American Airlines accusing the carrier of illegal monopoly tactics at its Dallas-Fort Worth regional hub.

Delta Air Lines ranks second to American Airlines at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and the two carriers overlap in other US cities also - a situation that would raise competition concerns.

The recent spate of merger speculation is likely now to broaden the issues officials look at when examining the proposed merger between United Airlines and US Airways, with consolidation within the airline industry as a whole a major component for consideration according to WSJ.

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