UK Carrier Says Key Documents Weren't Provided To DOT
In what has been dismissed as
another ploy to thwart an alliance between American Airlines and
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways has said the airlines have
failed to produce all required materials for review by the US
Department of Transportation in their bid for antitrust
immunity.
According to CNN reports, Virgin Atlantic director of
communications Paul Charles maintains that the 10,000 pages of
documentation submitted by the two air carriers to the DOT in March
are incomplete, but confidentiality laws prevented him from
disclosing specific details.
"Their (BA and American) submission appears to omit scores of
key documents, including email attachments and missing pages, that
would appear to be highly relevant to this case and, at the very
least, responsive to the Department of Transport's request for
further evidence," Charles said.
"Antitrust immunity for BA and American would give the carriers
further dominance on routes to and from Heathrow, so the regulators
need a complete set of documents in order to thoroughly review this
case," he added.
A statement released by AA said there was nothing to Virgin
Atlantic's claims. "This latest filing by Virgin Atlantic is
nothing but a delay tactic," the carrier said. "If Virgin had
legitimate concerns about the completeness of our response, it
would have come forward long ago."
"British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia fully provided
the information requested by the U.S. Department of Transportation
when they responded to a request for additional information on
March 13," an emailed release from BA said. "We hope the DOT will
quickly dispense with this motion and issue a scheduling order.
"We firmly believe approval of our anti trust immunity
application and joint business agreement is the quickest way to
bring benefits to customers, ensure robust competition and level
the playing field for all alliances."
As ANN reported, American Airlines, British
Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian filed their response
on March 13 to answer follow-up questions posed by DOT in December.
In August, the airlines submitted their application to DOT and also
informed the appropriate authorities in the European Union.
Those carriers assert antitrust immunity will allow the Oneworld
alliance to compete more effectively against the SkyTeam and Star
alliances, "both of which already enjoy broad antitrust immunity."
That will lower prices, the airlines claim, and benefit passengers
through more opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flier miles
on member airlines.
Opponents, including Virgin Atlantic,
have responded by saying the expanded alliance will slash
competition on the lucrative trans-Atlantic routes
between the US and Europe, not broaden it.
The DOT has six months to issue its ruling on the matter after
all required documentation has been submitted.
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