American Airlines/British Airways: An Alliance That Was Not Meant To Be?

In this article (Paragraph No. 10,101), the author details the failure of American Airlines and British Airways to secure--on terms they could accept--U.S. antitrust immunity for their proposed alliance arrangement, along with the lessons to be learned from the carrier's efforts. On January 25, 2002, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an Order to Show Cause that, among other things, conditionally approved and granted immunity from U.S. antitrust laws for a commercial alliance agreement between American and BA. Faced with the conditions proposed by DOT on the alliance, on February 13, 2002, the carriers filed a joint motion with the agency requesting that it dismiss their application for approval and antitrust immunity. These actions brought to a conclusion the third attempt to American and BA to obtain approval for their alliance arrangements. In his detailed analysis, the author first provides a background to the alliances, including a summary of U.S.-U.K. aviation relations, the U.S. Open Skies policy, the development of bilateral and global airline alliances, and U.S. antitrust immunity for such alliances. Second, he reviews the three American Airlines/British Airways applications and over five and one-half years of U.S. Department of Transportation proceedings. In the final portion of his article, the author attempts to discern the lessons that may be learned from the so-far unsuccessful efforts of these two carriers to commence an alliance relationship in a global aviation world where other alliances have been in place--some for a number of years--with government approval and antitrust immunity.

• Corporate Authors:

  International Aviation Law Institute

  DePaul University College of Law, 25 E Jackson Boulevard
  Chicago, IL  United States  60604
• Authors:
  • Devall, James L
• Publication Date: 2004

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Edition: Transfer Binder 1: 2001 to 2004
• Pagination: pp 4151-4204
• Monograph Title: Issues in Aviation Law and Policy

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Antitrust laws; Immunity (Law); Strategic alliances
• Identifier Terms: American Airlines, Inc.; British Airways
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Law;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01149584
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 29 2010 12:03PM