United Airlines CEO says big merger unlikely after American rebuff, asset buys possible

Source: Yahoo! Finance/Reuters

Sun, June 7, 2026 at 2:06 PM EDT


RIO DE JANEIRO, June 7 (Reuters) - United Airlines remains open to buying airport slots, gates or other assets if higher fuel prices put weaker rivals under pressure, but it is unlikely to pursue a ‌major consolidation deal after its failed overture to American Airlines, Chief Executive Scott Kirby told Reuters on Sunday.

Kirby said in April ‌that American declined to engage after he approached it about a merger, an idea Reuters reported he raised with U.S. President Donald Trump in February. American CEO Robert Isom ​rejected a tie-up as anti-competitive and bad for customers.

"I think consolidation is unlikely for United," Kirby said in an interview on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association's annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro. "That doesn't mean we won't still be in the market to buy assets, but consolidation is a low probability."

MERGER NEEDED MANAGEMENT SUPPORT

Kirby defended the rationale for a deal with American, saying he believed it would have benefited consumers. But he said a ‌transaction that large and unconventional could not be ⁠completed without support from American's management. The United chief said he believed labor groups, shareholders and customers would have supported the deal. But American management's public opposition made the transaction impractical, he said. "You can't have the management team on ⁠record publicly saying it was anti-competitive," Kirby said.

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/united-airlines-ceo-says-big-180632855.html