United Airlines Floats Marriage of Giants with American amid Skyrocketing Jet Fuel Costs
American Airlines, United, Delta and Southwest represent a whopping 75% share of the US aviation market, according to aviation data firm OAG.
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One of the largest airlines in the world may be testing the flight path for a megamerger.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby floated the idea of combining his company with American Airlines to President Donald Trump in February, Bloomberg reported this week. The news outlet said it’s unclear whether there has been any actual movement toward exploring a deal, and representatives for both airlines declined to comment.
American, United, Delta and Southwest account for a whopping 75% of the US aviation market, according to aviation data firm OAG. A merger between any of them would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines gave a union a shot under the Biden administration but called it quits in 2024 after a judge ruled a merger could drive up costs for consumers and hurt competition in an already concentrated industry.
Brace for Impact
Today’s airline industry is the product of years of strategic combinations, such as American’s acquisition of US Airways in 2013 and United’s tie-up with Continental. Despite those deals, the same old problems persist, including high costs, price competition and fluctuating customer demand. Getting even bigger through mergers (and eating up the competition) is one possible solution.
Even under the Trump administration, which has adopted a lax approach to antitrust enforcement, a deal of this magnitude would have a hard time taking off. But it’s not impossible:
- US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNBC last week there’s room for more aviation mergers, though combinations might require asset sales. He also said President Trump “loves to see big deals happen.”
- Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon wrote in a letter to shareholders last month that despite disruption from the war in Iran, he expects dealmaking activity to accelerate in 2026.
Bumpy Ride: In the meantime, the dealmaking rumor mill is working overtime as airlines wrestle with high jet fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East. Last week, Delta said in an earnings report that its fuel bill for the current quarter will surge by $2 billion from a year ago.
