Delta-Virgin Blue and global alliances. Joint venture is found to have public benefits

Global airline alliances are very much under the microscope at present. The European Commission and the US DoT are each specifically reviewing the oneworld British Airway-American Airlines-Iberia application for antitrust immunity. The broader issue is also arising in the context of US-Europe bilateral discussions, and, in tandem, the influential US Rep.James Oberstar is meanwhile attacking alliances head-on, largely in response to narrow - even misdirected nationalistic - political pressures.