The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has formally awarded antitrust immunity to the joint alliance between Virgin Australia and Delta Air Lines.
“In today’s order, the Department said Delta and its partners had made substantial changes from their previous application, addressing concerns that immunity would provide only limited benefit to consumers,” the DOT said in a statement. “In the new application, the Virgin Blue Group expanded the scope of the alliance to include service to more passengers. It also said that it had completed an upgrade of its reservation system to ensure compatibility with Delta’s system, providing consumers with a more seamless travel network. In addition, the carriers said they would serve more cities and offer more capacity at the start of their alliance than they originally proposed, providing more benefits to consumers at the outset.”
The anti-trust immunity will enable both airline groups to cooperate on route, schedule and product planning initiatives. The two airline groups already have a limited codeshare partnership.