Not if "Sir" Branson has his way.....would like to see the BA/AA/CO alliance, but may be harder than that.....we'll see.
Virgin: Any British Air/AMR/Continental Tie 'Anticompetitive'
April 30, 2008: 02:54 PM EST
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CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. said Wednesday a proposed three-way marketing tie among British Airways PLC (BAIRY), AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL) would be anti-competitive.
Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, weighed in after British Airways said it was in talks with the U.S. carriers.
"When BA and AA first tried to get together nearly ten years ago, the regulators ruled it was against the consumer interest," said Branson of British Airways and American Airlines in a statement.
"Nothing has changed. A linkup between BA and AA is still anti-competitive, and now they have the cheek of trying to add Continental to the mix, too."
Virgin and BA have been involved in a longstanding feud, which saw Branson's airline paint "No Way BA-AA" on some of its aircraft and win a legal victory over alleged "dirty tricks" carried out by its bitter U.K. rival.
"This triple whammy would reduce effective competition across the Atlantic, and the regulators should make it absolutely clear that it would have no chance of getting off the starting grid," said Branson of the three-way talks disclosed on Wednesday.
"This combination would act against the interests of passengers and Virgin Atlantic will fight tooth and nail to ensure that regulators say no way BA/AA/ Continental."