American Airlines welcomes the decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation to grant antitrust immunity to enable Aer Lingus to join the trans-Atlantic joint business between American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and Finnair. The trans-Atlantic joint business has brought significant benefits to millions of passengers since its launch in 2010.
Customers have benefited from lower fares and easier journeys to more destinations with better-aligned schedules and frequencies. The addition of Aer Lingus’ Dublin hub and its complementary network will significantly enhance customers’ travel options and add new European destinations not currently served by any other trans-Atlantic joint business. Aer Lingus’ customers will also obtain access to more than 200 new US destinations via the AJB network.
Many in the industry have expressed opposition to the joint partnership which covers more than half of the transatlantic traffic between Europe and the U.S. as a legalised price-fixing and a powerful force to curb the competition.
Recommended for you...
