A United Airlines plane taxis by American Airlines planes at Los Angeles International Airport last week. United CEO Scott Kirby says American did not engage in talks of a potential tie-up.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
United Airlines UAL-Q said on Monday it had ended its pursuit of a merger with American Airlines AAL-Q after it declined to engage following an initial approach.
“I was hoping to pitch that story to American, but they declined to engage and instead responded by publicly closing the door,” United CEO Scott Kirby said.
Kirby raised the idea of a combination with American during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in late February, people familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month.
The meeting was scheduled to discuss the future of Washington’s Dulles airport.
Combining two of the largest U.S. network carriers would have marked the biggest consolidation move in more than a decade, further tightening a domestic market already dominated by four similarly sized players.
However, the scale of a potential tie-up raised concerns among analysts and experts about the antitrust implications of such a deal.