London Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has formally concluded its seven-year investigation into the Atlantic Joint Business Agreement (AJBA), a transatlantic collaboration involving British Airways, American Airlines, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Finnair.
The decision, announced via a CMA press release, ends a probe launched in October 2018 to scrutinise whether the agreement, which allows the five airlines to coordinate schedules, pricing, and capacity across transatlantic routes, infringed the Competition Act 1998. Rather than issuing a ruling on illegality, the CMA accepted legally binding commitments from the airlines, ensuring continued competition on key routes between London and major U.S. cities, a move hailed as a victory for passengers seeking better choice and lower fares.
The AJBA, initially approved by the European Commission in 2010 before oversight shifted to the CMA post-Brexit, enables the airlines to operate as a single entity on transatlantic flights, pooling revenues and sharing costs. Critics argued this “metal-neutral” arrangement, where carriers are indifferent to which airline passengers choose within the group, stifled competition, particularly on high-demand routes like London to Boston, Miami, Chicago, and New York.
To address these concerns, the airlines agreed to release daily slot pairs at London’s constrained airports, notably Heathrow, for competitors to operate services to Boston, Miami, and Chicago. An additional slot pair for London-Boston will be provided if competitor flights drop below two per day, and a minimum number of local passengers on the London-Dallas route has been mandated to maintain service levels and constrain prices. These commitments, effective for at least six years until March 2031, build on interim measures extended in 2022 due to the aviation sector’s slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The resolution, detailed in a CMA notice on 3 July 2025, followed consultations in March and July, where six third parties, including five airlines, urged stronger measures. The final commitments, modified to include enhanced slot flexibility and improved terms for competitors’ connecting passengers, aim to level the playing field. Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines, already operating slots for London-Boston, Miami, and Dallas routes under a 2023 tender, are expected to continue through the 2026 summer season. The CMA’s decision avoids dismantling the AJBA, preserving its efficiency benefits while fostering competition, a balance that industry observers note could serve as a model for global aviation alliances.
For travellers, the outcome promises more options and potentially lower fares, particularly on routes historically dominated by the AJBA carriers. The CMA’s intervention underscores its post-Brexit role as a robust regulator, with the agreement reflecting a pragmatic approach to balancing airline cooperation with market fairness. As the aviation industry navigates ongoing economic pressures, including rising fuel costs and environmental regulations, the CMA’s oversight ensures that transatlantic passengers remain at the heart of competition policy, with the promise of a more dynamic market by the decade’s end.
