US looks into American and BA alliance

US regulators are querying the proposed American Airlines (AA) and British Airways (BA) alliance. While the four-way partnership deal between BA, AA, Qantas and Iberia suffered a blow when Qantas pulled out BA and AA are still pursuing a planned partnership.

The US Transportation Department has asked for more information on the proposal as to how it would affect competition including to Heathrow Airport, cargo and their service in Asian and Latin American markets.

There was also a request for information on what would happen if Qantas returned to negotiations and the effect on a successful inclusion of Iberia, and now Finnair and Royal Jordanian, which have also now joined the discussions.

The airlines want be able to coordinate operations and combine their marketing. Virgin Atlantic and Air France have protested claiming the alliance would be anti-competitive.