An Open Letter to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi from the 10,000 Pilots of American Airlines
Dear Ms. Bondi,
In joining the Justice Department lawsuit to block the American Airlines-US Airways merger, you claim that “this merger would be anti-competitive and harmful to consumers” and that “American and US Airways compete directly on thousands of heavily traveled nonstop and connecting routes.”Actually, the two airlines compete directly on only 12 nonstop routes. Their route networks
are highly complementary with very little overlap — much more so than in any other recent airline merger. Southwest and AirTran, for example, served many of the same markets and overlapped on more routes than American and US Airways now do. Yet neither you nor the Justice Department intervened to stop that merger. Officials at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport believe that the American Airlines-US Airways merger would work to their advantage by giving the airport a long-sought link to American’s Dallas-Fort Worth hub.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giminez also favors the merger, noting that, with its Miami hub, “American Airlines is a vitally important part of our work force.” Miami International Airport’s director has voiced concerns that its bond ratings will suffer if the merger is blocked.
American Airlines has struggled in recent years in the face of competition with two much larger carriers — Delta-Northwest and United-Continental — whose mergers were blessed by the Justice Department. The merger with US Airways would enable American Airlines to exit Chapter 11 restructuring
on a level playing field with United and Delta. A reinvigorated American Airlines would then offer business and international travelers a viable alternative to those carriers, providing an important competitive counterbalance.
If American Airlines and US Airways are not permitted to merge, American Airlines could be forced to shed less profitable routes, resulting in the potential service cuts you cite as justificatio for opposing the merger.
Maybe you should ask Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott about why he withdrew Texas from the Justice Department lawsuit after initially supporting it. In announcing Texas’ withdrawal, Attorney General Abbott stated that the new American Airlines “will preserve competition in the marketplace, maintain important routes in Texas and protect jobs.”
For the sake of American Airlines, its thousands of Florida-based workers and the economic well-being of the Sunshine State, we hope you’ll likewise reconsider your position.
