Star Alliance partners United Airlines and British Midland Airways this week applied with the U.S. Transportation Department for antitrust immunity. The carriers in 2001 filed a similar motion, which the DOT approved pending passage of an earlier attempt at an U.S.-EU Open Skies agreement.
In a filing with the DOT, the carriers asked to enact antitrust immunity on March 30, 2008—the expected start date of last month's Open Skies treaty, which aims to liberalize transatlantic air travel
(BTN, April 2).
DOT in 2002 concluded in a statement that "the United/BMI alliance, if combined with an Open Skies agreement, was consistent with its policy of promoting pro-competitive and pro-consumer international aviation alliances, and that it would increase travel options and competition in U.S.-transatlantic markets." However, after several starts and stops, it took several years for the Open Skies agreement to make progress.
United and BMI in its filing this week said, "The conditions the Department imposed on the effectiveness of its earlier grant of immunity to BMI have been satisfied." The application noted that a "review of the relevant markets confirms that the fundamental findings that supported the Department's earlier immunity grant remain true today."
Analysts and airlines expect antitrust immunity applications to flourish in light of the recent Open Skies agreement, as the treaty sets forth "new cooperation arrangements between competition authorities with a commitment to promote compatible regulatory approaches to alliance agreements and other cooperative arrangements between airlines." Antitrust issues-faced in at least some markets by all major airline alliance alliances-have made it difficult to structure singularly priced alliance deals for corporate travel buyers
(BTN, Jan. 22).