United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby announced that the carrier is abandoning its pursuit of a merger with American Airlines after the rival declined to engage in discussions.
Kirby made the comments in a statement released on April 27, following reports that he had approached American about a potential combination. He had envisioned the deal creating a U.S. airline with the scale to compete globally against foreign carriers, which he noted hold about 65% of long-haul seats into the country despite serving only 40% foreign customers.
I was hoping to pitch that story to American, but they declined to engage and instead responded by publicly closing the door. And without a willing partner, something this big simply can't get done, Kirby said. He argued the merger would have generated tens of thousands of new high-paying, unionized jobs, supported aircraft manufacturing and domestic supply chains, and cleared regulatory hurdles through required divestitures in some domestic markets.
American Airlines CEO Robert Isom rebuffed the idea on April 24, stating the airline was not interested and that a merger would be bad for all parties. Isom likened the two carriers to roommates at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, where both operate hubs, adding, we're not getting married.
Kirby acknowledged American's public comments make it clear that a merger like this is off the table for the foreseeable future.