Stock prices for United Airlines and American Airlines climbed during premarket trading Tuesday following reports that United’s chief executive discussed a possible merger between the two major carriers with former President Donald Trump.
The potential combination of these two aviation giants would represent the industry’s most significant consolidation in over ten years.
American’s stock price jumped approximately 4% while United’s shares increased by roughly 2%.
Both airlines have experienced declining stock values in recent weeks due to rising jet fuel costs stemming from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. American’s stock has dropped 14.1% while United has fallen 10.4% since the conflict started in late February.
According to sources, United CEO Scott Kirby brought up the merger concept during a February 25 White House discussion about the future development of Washington’s Dulles airport.
Kirby’s argument centered on the idea that a merged airline would be better positioned to compete on international routes, where foreign airlines currently control most long-distance flight capacity to and from the United States, even though the majority of passengers are American citizens.
Aviation industry leaders and antitrust specialists indicated that regulatory approval would face significant obstacles, pointing to concerns about reduced competition, increased ticket prices, potential job cuts, and substantial route duplication in a U.S. airline industry already controlled by four major companies.
Both United and American Airlines refused to provide comment, while the White House has not responded to media inquiries about the matter.
