Swissair, Delta Air Lines and its partners have received antitrust immunity from the U.S. Department of Transportation for their plan to coordinate services, Swissair said Monday.
Swissair said the ruling allows the group, which also includes Austrian Airlines and Belgian carrier Sabena SA, to cooperate in scheduling service and organizing their systems to work together as though they were a single airline.Other airlines have been pairing off in similar global alliances, including United Airlines and Lufthansa German Airlines, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest Airlines. Last week, British Airways and American Airlines proposed the biggest of such deals.
Delta said its alliance gives the four airlines the opportunity to create a seamless trans-Atlantic air transport system, while maintaining their separate corporate and national identities.
Delta said the alliances are subject to a definitive operating agreement.
Worldwide, the four carriers will service about 300 cities with 3,513 flights and a total fleet of 675 aircraft.