A merger pitch usually leaks through unnamed sources. This one ended on the front page, with American slamming the door before United could even open it.
United CEO Scott Kirby confirmed Monday that he tried to convince American Airlines to combine with United, only to get publicly rejected by his counterpart in a televised interview. The two airlines together would form the biggest carrier in the country, and they have never been further apart.
Kirby said he wanted to build "something incredible for customers" by stacking United's network on top of American's, framing the pitch as a play against foreign airlines that fly more than half of the long-haul seats into the United States.
Most of those overseas passengers are Americans flying out, not foreign travelers flying in, which Kirby argued only a U.S. mega-airline could realistically reclaim. He said he was confident a combined company could clear regulators, though American didn't give him a chance to find out.
The CEO had floated the idea inside the Trump administration earlier this year, hoping to test the political waters before going public.
Instead of meeting Kirby halfway, American CEO Robert Isom went on TV last week and called a tie-up a nonstarter, using the word anticompetitive - the same word the Justice Department uses when it wants to block a deal in court.
President Trump piled on last Tuesday, telling CNBC's "Squawk Box" he doesn't want the two combined and would rather see Spirit Airlines find a buyer. The federal government is reportedly weighing a rescue package for Spirit, which has been on the brink for months and is in advanced talks with the administration.
Kirby acknowledged Monday that the deal is dead, saying that without a willing partner "something this big simply can't get done."
The bigger question now is what United does next, since the foreign-competition argument was the real reason for the pitch and that problem hasn't gone away.
Watch for whether United pivots to organic international growth, alliance expansions, or another target entirely. The combined-scale argument isn't going to disappear just because American walked away.
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