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DOT Inactive Antitrust Immunity Cases

Inactive Airline Alliances

A compendium of inactive antitrust immunity cases administered by the Secretary of Transportation.

Last updated: 3/27/2024

Arranged alphabetically by U.S. airline party, then by date the proceeding was initiated.  Dockets can be accessed at https://www.regulations.gov.

Aloha - Hawaiian

Inactive

Filed: July 31, 2002

Docket: DOT-OST-2002-13002

Final Order: Order 2002-9-25 (September 30, 2002) (authority effective until October 1, 2003)

Notes: Closed out by Order 2007-5-16 (May 24, 2007).

America West – Royal Jordanian

Inactive

Filed: July 12, 2004

Docket: DOT-OST-2004-18613

Final Order: Order 2005-1-23 (January 27, 2005)

Notes: Closed out by Order 2007-5-16 (May 24, 2007).

American – Canadian International

Inactive

Filed: November 3, 1995

Docket: DOT-OST-1995-792

Final Order: Order 96-7-21 (July 15, 1996)

Notes: Carve outs: New York-Toronto (U.S. POS all local O&D traffic only). Alliance ended on June 1, 2000. Closed out by Order 2007-5-16 (May 24, 2007).

American – British Airways

(AA/BA I)

Inactive

Filed: January 10, 1997

Docket: DOT-OST-1997-2058

Order: Order 99-7-22 (July 30, 1999) (terminating the proceeding)

                                                                                     American – LAN - LAN Chile

Inactive

Filed: December 23, 1997

Docket: Docket DOT-OST-1997-3285

Final Order: Order 99-9-9 (September 13, 1999)

Notes: The Joint Applicants filed an expanded application and requested to form a joint venture in Docket DOT-OST-2019-0054. The application was withdrawn, and the docket closed.

On August 26, 2021 the Department revoked antitrust immunity retroactive to May 1, 2020 in Order 2021-7-16 and closed this Docket.

American – Swissair - Sabena

Inactive

Filed: November 19, 1999

Docket: DOT-OST-1999-6528

Final Order: Order 2000-5-13 (May 11, 2000)

Notes: Carve outs: Chicago-Zurich, Chicago-Brussels (U.S. point of sale time-sensitive traffic only). The three-way AA-SR-SN alliance was dissolved. AA-SR Terminated on November 8, 2001; AA-SN Terminated on March 21, 2002; all authorities closed out by Order 2007-5-16 (May 24, 2007).

American – TACA Group

Inactive

Filed: March 17, 2000

Docket: DOT-OST-2000-7088

Order: Order 2005-6-16 (June 28, 2005) (terminating the proceeding and closing the docket)

American – British Airways

(AA/BA II)

Inactive

Filed: August 10, 2001

Docket: DOT-OST-2001-10387 and 11029

Show Cause Order: Order 2002-1-12 (January 25, 2002)

Final Order: Order 2002-4-4 (April 4, 2002)

Notes: The Final Order granted the parties’ motion to dismiss the case.  Docket DOT-OST-2001-10387 was closed out by Order 2007-5-16 (May 24, 2007).

American – Swiss International Air Lines

Inactive

Filed: June 28, 2002

Docket: DOT-OST-2002-12688

Final Order: Order 2002-11-12 (November 22, 2002)

Notes: After a brief cessation of service by Swiss, the parties temporarily renewed their alliance before terminating it in 2005 as Swiss moved into the Star Alliance organization and then became a subsidiary of Lufthansa.  The docket was closed out by Order 2007-5-16 (May 24, 2007).

American – SN Brussels

Inactive

Filed: November 13, 2003

Docket: DOT-OST-2003-16530

Final Order: Order 2004-4-10 (April 15, 2004)

Notes: The parties renewed their alliance after a brief cessation of service by Sabena, now SN Brussels.  Subsequently, antitrust immunity terminated by notice of the parties, effective October 24, 2009.

American – LAN - LAN Peru

Inactive

Filed: December 22, 2004

Docket: DOT-OST-2004-19964

Final Order: Order 2005-10-8 (October 13, 2005)

Notes: The Joint Applicants filed an expanded application and requested to form a joint venture in Docket DOT-OST-2019-0054. The application was withdrawn, and the docket closed.

On August 26, 2021 the Department revoked antitrust immunity retroactive to May 1, 2020 in Order 2021-7-16 and closed this Docket.

American – Iberia – Finnair – Malev – Royal Jordanian

Inactive

Filed: July 24, 2007

Docket: DOT-OST-2007-28845

Order: Order 2008-6-18 (June 16, 2008) (dismissing the application)

Notes: The parties had moved to dismiss after DOT issued a notice requiring further information before the record could be declared substantially complete.

American – Qantas

Inactive

Filed: June 7, 2011

Docket: DOT-OST-2011-0111

Order: 2011-11-12 (November 9, 2011) (approving the JBA, antitrust immunity was not requested)

American – Qantas

Inactive

Filed: June 9, 2015

Docket: DOT-OST-2015-0129

Show Cause Order: 2016-11-16 (November 18, 2016) (tentatively disapproving the application and denying a grant of antitrust immunity)

Order: 2016-12-15 (December 16, 2016) (dismissing the application and closing the docket)

American – LATAM Airlines Group

Inactive

Filed: May 16, 2016

Docket: DOT-OST-2016-0087

Order: Order 2019-2-18 (February 22, 2019) (dismissing the application and closing the docket)

Notes: Procedural schedule suspended by notice (DOT-OST-2016-0087-0003) on May 26, 2016, pending the U.S. reaching an Open Skies agreement with Brazil.

Once Open Skies was achieved, the Joint Applicants filed notice to withdraw and dismiss the proceeding (DOT-OST-2016-0087-0013) on February 14, 2019 in order to submit an updated application.

The new application was filed in Docket DOT-OST-2019-0054. Application involved American,   LATAM Airlines, LATAM Airlines Brazil, LAN Peru, LATAM Airlines Paraguay, LATAM Airlines  Colombia.

American – LATAM Airlines Group

Inactive

Filed: April 3, 2019

Docket: DOT-OST-2019-0054

Order: Order 2019-10-12 (October 22, 2019) (dismissing the application and closing the docket)

Notes: Joint applicants filed notice to withdraw (DOT-OST-2019-0054-0007) on October 1, 2019.

Application involved American and LATAM Airlines Group S.A. for air transportation between the United States and Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

Delta – Austrian – Sabena - Swissair

Inactive

Filed: September 8, 1995 Docket: DOT-OST-1995-618

Final Order: Order 96-6-33 (June 14, 1996)

Notes: When it was active, the alliance was subject to carve outs for U.S. point-of-sale time sensitive traffic in the Atlantic-Zurich, Atlanta-Brussels, Cincinnati-Zurich, New York-Brussels, New York-Vienna, New York- Geneva, and New York-Zurich markets. The Atlantic Excellence alliance ended on August 6, 2000. The docket was closed out by Order 2007-5-16 (May 24, 2007).

 

Delta – Northwest - Air France - KLM – Alitalia – Czech Airlines

(SkyTeam I Case)

Inactive

Filed: September 24, 2004

Docket: DOT-OST-2004-19214 (consolidated with the codeshare docket - 19215 on October 24, 2004)

Show Cause: Order 2005-12-12 (December 22, 2005) (tentatively denying the application for antitrust immunity)

Final Order: Order 2006-2-1 (February 6, 2006) (granting a motion to dismiss immunity request but approving code-share authority)

Delta – Air France – KLM – Air Tahiti Nui – Alitalia

Inactive

Filed: April 15, 2013

Docket: DOT-OST-2013-0077

Show Cause Order: Order 2014-3-17 (March 28, 2014) (tentatively denying a grant of antitrust immunity)

Order: Order 2014-4-31 (April 29, 2014) (granting the applicants’ motion to dismiss without prejudice)

Notes: The application was dismissed upon motion of the parties following the show cause order.

Delta – Virgin Australia

Inactive

Filed: July 9, 2009

Docket: DOT-OST-2009-0155

Show Cause Order: Order 2011-5-8 (May 10, 2011): tentatively granting antitrust immunity based upon substantial changes to the application

Final Order: Order 2011-6-9 (June 10, 2011) 

Notes: On February 3, 2022, the carriers submitted a letter relinquishing their antitrust immunity (DOT-OST-2009-0155-0064).  
 

Delta – WestJet

Inactive

Filed: October 10, 2018

Docket: DOT-OST-2018-0154

Show Cause Order: 2020-10-13 (October 23, 2020) (tentatively approving the alliance subject to conditions)

  Order: 2020-12-17 (December 21, 2020) (dismissing the proceeding and closing the docket)

Hawaiian - Japan Airlines

Inactive

Filed: June 15, 2018

Docket: DOT-OST-2018-0084

Show Cause Order: Order 2019-10-5 (October 3, 2019)

Final Order: Order 2020-3-5 (March 13, 2020)

Notes: The Department approved the alliance agreements but did not confer antitrust immunity to the joint venture. 

IATA

Inactive

 

Filed: July 6, 2006

Docket: DOT-OST-2006-25307

Show Cause Order: Order 2006-7-3 (July 6, 2006)

Final Order: Order 2007-3-23 (March 30, 2007) (revoking immunity for tariff conferences in major markets). Some immunity remains from other proceedings.

IATA

Pending

Filed: April 29, 2016

Docket: DOT-OST-2016-0071

Northwest – KLM - Alitalia

Inactive

Filed: May 11, 1999

Docket: DOT-OST-1999-5674

Final Order: Order 99-12-5 (December 3, 1999)

Notes: Alitalia terminated its relationship with the other parties on October 28, 2001. The docket was closed out by Order 2007-5-16 (May 24, 2007).

 

Northwest – Malaysia

Inactive

Filed: January 13, 2000 Docket: DOT-OST-2000-6791

Final Order: Order 2000-10-12 (October 13, 2000)

Notes: The alliance was never implemented. The parties notified DOT in October 2005 of their intention not to pursue their alliance. The docket was closed out by Order 2007-5-16 (May 24, 2007).

 

Last updated: Wednesday, March 27, 2024