Unbiased AI-powered news
Chief executive Scott Kirby said the airline is prepared to purchase gates and other assets if opportunities arise, while ruling out large-scale consolidation after American Airlines rejected a merger proposal.
foxbusiness.comUnited Airlines is prepared to purchase airport slots, gates, and other strategic assets from struggling competitors, Chief Executive Scott Kirby said Sunday. Kirby spoke on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro. He told Reuters that full consolidation remains unlikely after American Airlines rejected a merger proposal earlier this year.
Kirby said in April that American declined to engage after he approached it about a merger. He raised the merger idea with President Trump in February. American CEO Robert Isom rejected a tie-up as anti-competitive and bad for customers.
Kirby said any large transaction would require support from the target airline’s management, which was not obtained in the earlier talks. He added that a transaction that large and unconventional could not be completed without support from American’s management. “I think consolidation is unlikely for United,” Kirby said.
Kirby defended the rationale for a deal with American, saying he believed it would have benefited consumers. He said he believed labor groups, shareholders and customers would have supported the deal, but American management’s public opposition made the transaction impractical. “You can’t have the management team on record publicly saying it was anti-competitive,” Kirby said.
U.S. government a golden share as part of any merger proposal. Kirby said smaller asset acquisitions remain possible if opportunities arise.
He said current pricing is nearly offsetting higher fuel costs for the airline and that United expects higher fares will put it on track to recover later this year the full hit it has taken from surging fuel prices. Demand has stayed strong, though United expects higher fares eventually to have some impact, Kirby said.
He added that fuel hedging has proven ineffective as a cost-control measure and that United is not interested in buying a refinery.
Asked about JetBlue Airways, Kirby said the carrier is not close to a Chapter 11 filing. He noted JetBlue holds substantial cash reserves and unencumbered assets that reduce the likelihood of bankruptcy-driven sales.
themarysue.comThe prediction market platform directed creators to film fabricated wins on replica sites. A Wall Street Journal review found the depicted trades would have lost money in 118 cases totaling $166,000.
Claude Guillemot, 69, died Friday when the Cessna 421 he was piloting crashed near La Baule-Escoublac Airport in western France. A flight instructor on board was also killed.
The Japan TimesChinese customs data show zero shipments of certain tungsten types, dysprosium and terbium to Japan last month. A broader rare-earth category reached its lowest three-month rolling total since 2023.