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United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby confirmed Monday that he approached rival American Airlines with a “big, bold vision” for a merger proposal in what would have been the largest U.S. airline tie-up in more than a decade.
“I was hoping to pitch that story to American, but they declined to engage and instead responded by publicly closing the door,” Kirby wrote in an April 27 statement. “And without a willing partner, something this big simply can’t get done.”
News of Kirby’s interest in American was first reported by Bloomberg News on April 13, kicking off a wave of responses from government, labor and industry officials. His audacious proposal would combine two of the three largest U.S. airlines, resulting in a combined domestic market share of more than 40%. In his statement, Kirby admitted that “divestitures in certain domestic markets obviously would have been required” should the two carriers have merged.
American in an April 17 statement said it “is not engaged with or interested in any discussions regarding a merger with United Airlines.”
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