American Airlines slams Virgin Atlantic claims
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American Airlines today issued the following statement in response to a Virgin Atlantic filing made today with the U.S. Department of Transportation.
FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Once again, Virgin’s comments are long on accusations and rhetoric and short on the facts. American is opposed to a Delta-Japan Airlines (JAL) tie-up for the same reason we are confident our transatlantic immunity application will be approved: to preserve and enhance competition.
SkyTeam with a Delta-JAL combination would account for nearly 60 percent of U.S.-Tokyo passengers, as opposed to oneworld’s approximate 44 percent share of U.S.-London passengers. AA and British Airways only account for about 40 percent of U.S.-U.K. traffic, whereas Delta-JAL would consolidate the positions of the two largest U.S.-Japan carriers with more than 60 percent share of U.S.-Japan passengers, leaving oneworld with just a 6 percent share.
In addition, significant competition will remain after AA and BA receive immunity, as 78 percent of travelers on city pairs where AA and BA both provide nonstop service would continue to have three or more competitive options. Just 27 percent of passengers on city pairs where Delta and JAL overlap would continue to have three or more competitors for transpacific service.
The bottom line is we’re aiming to level the playing field for alliance competition in the transatlantic market and to prevent an unlevel field for alliance competition from evolving in the transpacific.
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