A business travel group is to plead with US lawmakers to examine the country’s airline industry following a series of major mergers between carriers.
The Business Travel Coalition is writing to US attorney general Eric Holder and transportation secretary Ray LaHood about the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways.
But rather than asking for this latest merger to be blocked by regulators, the BTC wants a wider probe into the effects of previous mergers between United and Continental in 2010 and the earlier tie-up between Delta and Northwest.
“We are not advocating blocking the merger, at this time,” said the BTC in its letter. “Rather, in reducing from six major network airlines to possibly three, over a brief period of airline industry history, it is imperative to broaden and deepen the anti-trust review beyond relevant markets and overlapping routes.
“There is a unique opportunity and need to conduct a thorough forensic post-mortem evaluation of the supportive analyses, projections and promises regarding the then proposed Delta-Northwest and Continental-United mergers consummated in 2008 and 2010 respectively.”
The coalition goes on to suggest that the growing power of the airlines following the mergers should be offset by legislation “containing a minimum set of national consumer protections”.
BTC has been urging companies in the business travel industry as well as corporate clients to sign the letter which is due to be sent tomorrow (March 19).
Among those to have already signed the letter include The Travel Company Edinburgh, Cresta World Travel, STA Travel and pharmaceutical giant Glaxo Smithkline.
BTC chairman Kevin Mitchell added: “This public-policy deliberation has implications for corporate, university and government travel managers, TMCs and other industry participants in and outside of the US”.