United CEO Scott Kirby said another major U.S. airline merger looks unlikely after American Airlines rejected a possible combination earlier this year.
RIO DE JANEIRO — United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said he does not expect another major U.S. airline merger soon and signaled that United is not pursuing a combination after American Airlines rejected the idea of a tie-up earlier this year.
Kirby made the comments Sunday while speaking with reporters on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association’s annual meeting, where recent airline consolidation was a key industry backdrop. Asked whether more combinations were likely after a string of deals, Kirby answered bluntly: “There’s nothing.”
The remarks push back on speculation about further consolidation in a mature U.S. domestic market. Allegiant and Sun Country merged this year, while Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines combined in 2024. But Kirby said the remaining opportunities are harder to justify and that United would not seek a transaction simply for the sake of getting larger.
“United’s not going to do a deal just to do a deal,” Kirby told reporters. He said mergers need to make economic sense and require broad support from labor groups, customers, shareholders, regulators and company leadership.
Kirby had floated the possibility of combining with American earlier this year, including to the Trump administration, CNBC previously reported. He later said he believed a combined carrier could better compete with large foreign rivals, though some analysts viewed such a deal as facing steep regulatory obstacles.
On Sunday, Kirby said American’s management team was not behind the idea, making a deal impossible. He also has repeatedly dismissed the idea of United buying JetBlue Airways, one of its partners.
United is not the only large carrier publicly playing down dealmaking. Delta Air Lines President Peter Carter told CNBC on Saturday that he does not see a merger or acquisition in Delta’s future, pointing instead to the airline’s strategy of partnerships and joint ventures in markets including South Korea, Mexico and Europe.
Carter said international travel is a key growth area as the U.S. domestic market matures, and he indicated Delta wants to challenge United more directly in the trans-Pacific market.
For now, the public stance from two of the country’s largest airlines is that partnerships and international expansion, rather than another major domestic merger, are the more likely path forward.
Comments (0)