The U.S. Department of Transportation today issued a final order requiring SkyTeam carriers operating under antitrust immunity to file annual reports demonstrating they are "producing benefits for consumers."
Today's order is an amendment to last year's approval by DOT for SkyTeam carriers Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, Czech Airlines and Alitalia to operate as an antitrust-immune transatlantic alliance, which freed those airlines to jointly set prices, coordinate schedules and share revenues on transatlantic routes.
DOT in today's order noted, "It is clear that the SkyTeam carriers will engage in increasingly complex cooperation in the future. Given the size and complexity of the alliance, we think the public interest requires new reporting requirements to ensure that public benefits are being realized." The DOT order will require those carriers to file annual reports detailing goals of the alliance, actions taken to implement agreements and details of how those actions benefit the public.
While similar applications for antitrust immunity by SkyTeam competitors in the Star and Oneworld airline alliances face delays in gaining approval from U.S. authorities, Delta and Air France-KLM already are cooperating as one entity across the Atlantic and reaping the benefits of last year's immunity approval
(BTNonline, June 22).