Virgin and Delta apply for anti-trust immunity
Virgin and Delta Air Lines have applied to the US Department of Transportation for antitrust immunity for their new joint venture on flights between the UK and North America.
They claimed it will allow them to provide more competition on transatlantic routes, particularly between the US and London, by expanding the "quantity and quality" of flights.
In their filing to the DOT, Delta and Virgin Atlantic claimed that nearly 60% of Heathrow’s slots are controlled by the American Airlines/British Airways joint venture which, they said, dominated air travel between the US and the UK, including the New York-London market, the most important business market in the world.
"By combining Virgin’s Heathrow slots and UK brand strength with Delta’s powerful US network, the joint venture will offer significant competition in the market and benefit consumers on both sides of the Atlantic," they said.
"Our proposed joint venture will mean an expanded schedule with more frequencies and destinations for customers traveling between the key business markets in the US and the UK," added Delta president Ed Bastian.
"Approval of antitrust immunity would allow travellers to take full advantage of all the aspects of the Delta-Virgin joint venture and enjoy the benefits of increased competition, particularly on flights to and from Heathrow Airport."
Virgin’s new chief executive Craig Kreeger said: "Today’s filing for antitrust immunity marks the next step towards the full implementation of this joint venture between two great airline brands.
"Consumers will reap the rewards of this joint venture on services between the UK and the United States, Canada and Mexico through a shared ethos in the highest standards of customer service and much more effective competition to and from Heathrow. We are confident that the DOT will recognize this consumer benefit."
Under the proposed joint venture, Delta and Virgin Atlantic would coordinate schedules, network planning, pricing and revenue management functions, sales and other aspects of their services between North America and the UK.
They would operate a total of 31 peak-day round-trip flights between the UK and North America, 23 of which would operate at Heathrow.
In addition, if antitrust immunity is approved, Delta plans to begin new nonstop services between Seattle and London Heathrow.
Delta already operates a transatlantic joint venture with Air France KLM and Alitalia. In their filing, the airlines are also seeking antitrust immunity for five-way coordination on UK – North America traffic flows among Delta, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM and Alitalia
Last year, Delta and Virgin Atlantic announced an agreement under which Delta will acquire Singapore Airlines’ 49% equity stake in Virgin Atlantic’s parent company.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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