Virgin Blue issued a terse statement following the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) preliminary decision to deny Virgin Blue and Delta Air Lines’ application for antitrust immunity in relation to their proposed joint venture on the trans-Pacific Route.
Virgin said both airlines would be working with DOT over the next 14-day period to respond to the concerns raised.
Virgin Blue said it strongly believes the proposed alliance with Delta will be good for consumers.
Ben Sandilands, writing his Plane Talking column, said “the obvious question has to be posed about the now threatened Virgin Blue/Delta Airlines joint venture as to just what the two airlines can say to the US Department of Transportation in the next two weeks to prevent it rejecting their application for anti-trust immunity.â€
Sandilands said the Virgin Blue-Delta JV “either gets approved, or everyone else – Qantas, United and Delta – ends up with Singapore Airlines as a competitor, as its entry to those routes really hinges on Canberra saying ‘Yes’ to an involvement that the US seems to regard as consistent with its own support of open skies between itself, Singapore and Australiaâ€.
“The next two weeks may therefore be about the messages of concern the DoT hears from US flag carriers about Singapore Airlines opening new non-Singaporean routes to America rather than a reiteration from Virgin Blue and Delta of material they could not have failed to already present to the transportation department during the detailed and lengthy application process of seeking anti-trust immunity.â€
