United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby pitched a blockbuster merger with rival American Airlines during a White House meeting with President Trump, according to a report.
The proposal came during a Feb. 25 White House meeting, where Kirby argued a combined airline would better compete globally — though a person close to the administration said there was skepticism about the idea, the Reuters news agency reported.
Any tie-up would face steep antitrust hurdles in the already highly consolidated domestic airline industry, where four major carriers dominate roughly 70% of the market and regulators are wary of further shrinking competition.
United controls about 16.7% of the U.S. domestic market while American holds roughly 17.4% — meaning a combined airline would command more than a third of all traffic, a level likely to intensify regulatory scrutiny.
A United spokesperson declined to comment. The Post has reached out to American Airlines and the White House.
Shares of American surged nearly 8% in early trading following the report on Tuesday morning, while United rose about 2%, reflecting investor optimism around a potential tie-up.
Recent dealmaking in the industry shows just how hard it has become to win regulatory approval.
In 2024, the Biden Justice Department successfully challenged JetBlue’s planned takeover of Spirit, arguing the merger would eliminate a low-cost rival and drive up fares, and a federal judge ultimately blocked the deal.
Regulators also moved against looser forms of consolidation.
In 2021, DOJ sued to unwind the Northeast Alliance between American and JetBlue, arguing the partnership reduced competition in the New York and Boston markets, and a judge ordered the arrangement terminated.
Even older airline mergers that did get done came with strict prerequisites.
When American merged with US Airways in 2013, the DOJ sued before settling on a package of slot and gate divestitures at congested airports, while United’s 2010 tie-up with Continental required divestitures as well.
William Kovacic, a former chair of the Federal Trade Commission, said the idea of a merger between United Airlines and American Airlines is “extremely far fetched” and would face “overwhelming regulatory obstacles.”
Kovacic, now a professor at George Washington University Law School, said the airlines compete “head to head in so many markets” and are “the principal carriers in a variety of important airline hubs,” making it difficult to see how regulators could be satisfied.
“I can’t imagine what collection of divestitures would serve to overcome the concerns that the antitrust authorities are going to have about this,” he said, adding that “unless they have a real rabbit to pull out of their hats, this one seems improbable.”
Even if federal regulators were inclined to approve the deal, Kovacic said state officials could step in to block it.
“You could be certain that I think a few dozen state attorneys general would join together to bring suits to block it,” he said, adding that “it’s not enough just to get the White House on your side to get this through.”
Kovacic also warned the merger could hurt travelers if it somehow cleared regulators.
“I think in a number of markets, it would mean that there’d be a lot of upward pressure on prices,” he said, adding consumers would likely see “higher prices and probably less service.”
Michael Boyd, an airline industry consultant and CEO of Boyd Group International, said the merger talk is likely more bluster than reality.
“This merger proposal is probably just a trial balloon,” Boyd said, adding that the sheer complexity of combining two massive carriers suggests it’s “probably not too serious” as an actual deal.
Boyd pointed to the logistical and political hurdles, saying stitching together a deal of that size — from airport slots to gates and regulatory carve-outs — would be extraordinarily difficult.
“The program would look like a wiring diagram from the space shuttle,” he said.
