News: Branson takes merger fight to US Congress
Flights > News > # 2226 (11/08/2009)
Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson is to take his fight against the proposed merger between British Airways and American Airlines to the US House of Representatives by appearing in front of a key sub-committee next month.
According to reports in The Sunday Telegraph, Sir Richard has been summoned as a witness for the House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy on September 16.
The merger can only go ahead if the US Department of Transportation grants BA and AA the necessary anti-trust immunity, but Sir Richard has warned that a BA/AA alliance would have an unhealthy dominance on flights between Heathrow and the US.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh claims the agreement is vital to thwart competition from two existing transcontinental alliances, SkyTeam, featuring AirFrance and Delta, and Star Alliance, which includes Lufthansa, United Airlines and BMI.
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