Articles tagged “doj”

The Justice Department is reviewing the controversial new partnership between American Airlines and JetBlue Airways for antitrust concerns. If the deal is off, what does it mean for an airline industry battered by the pandemic?

Sabre's arguments that UK regulators would merely fall in line if a U.S. court backed Sabre's merger with Farelogix were naive. The UK ruling was essentially correct about the proposed deal stifling innovation, and somewhere airlines are quietly celebrating the ruling.

A federal judge heard closing arguments in the U.S. government's antitrust suit to block Sabre's acquisition of Farelogix. Inside the courtroom, Judge Leonard Stark's comments didn't show his hand. The case seems a close call.

It's notable that we had a much easier time finding experts who supported Sabre's proposed merger of Farelogix than opponents. But this court case will be decided on legal nuances, and its outcome is impossible to predict. We pity the judge who has to endure this crash course in airline technology and distribution.

The momentum is certainly building for a renewed look into Google's business practices as they relate to antitrust issues. As part of that, a wide swath of travel businesses would welcome such a probe.

Unlike in the Google-ITA Software acquisition process, there is no organized, public campaign to stop Expedia's acquisition of Orbitz. But that doesn't man that competitors aren't whispering to the DOJ that the deal is bad for competition.

Looks like this merger is just about a fait accompli, pending the approval of the federal court in Washington, D.C., and American emerging from bankruptcy. Then the fun really begins.

It isn't unusual for state attorneys general to get involved in antitrust probes, and the fact that this one is being led by the State of Texas, where American Airlines is headquartered, should be a tip-off as to where this investigation is headed.