Image via Wikipedia
Virgin Atlantic’s President highlighted what he believes to be the hypocritical approach Oneworld is taking over the possible Japan Airlines and Delta alliance in comparison to the proposed British Airways/American Airlines tie-up.
“Oneworld’s approach to the potential JAL/Delta transpacific alliance is hypocritical in the extreme. BA and AA’s arguments against the JAL/Delta transpacific alliance read like a carbon copy of our longstanding objections to a BA/AA transatlantic alliance. The only difference is that BA/AA poses a far greater competition issue and risk to consumers than JAL/Delta.”
Sir Richard Branson concluded:
“It is not often we can say that we wholeheartedly agree with BA and AA on anti-trust issues, but we agreed with BA’s CEO Willie Walsh last year that Heathrow is full, we agreed with American Airlines’ CFO Tom Horton last month that slot give-ups and route carve-outs are insufficient remedies for an anticompetitive alliance and we continue to agree with American Airlines’ CEO Gerard Arpey that the DOT should not grant anti-trust immunity where there are numerous overlap markets with high market shares.
“If we apply Oneworld’s own JAL/Delta antitrust immunity test to BA/AA it is irrefutably clear BA/AA should be rejected, and rejected outright. Oneworld’s double standards in its fight for Japan Airlines are breathtaking. ”
{ 1 trackback }