- Scott Kirby spoke at Bernstein’s conference.
- He ruled out a merger with JetBlue.
- JetBlue needs 25pcage points margin improvement.
- United considered only the American Airlines deal.
- American rejected merger possibilities.
Scott Kirby has ruled out any merger between United Airlines and JetBlue Airways. The chief executive addressed speculation during a question and answer session at Bernstein’s 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference. He confirmed that United pursued only the transaction with American Airlines that made economic sense.
Kirby stated that any major deal requires a willing partner which United does not have in this case. He noted that JetBlue would need to improve margins by 25pcage points for a deal to become viable. American Airlines rejected the possibility of a merger with United after initial reports.
The airline maintains its Blue Sky partnership with JetBlue. Speculation about a potential sale of JetBlue to a competitor emerged in April but the carrier denied the reports.
Scott Kirby shared “For many years, the only kind of big transaction that we tried was the only one that made economic sense. None of the other deals made sense. I never understood why everyone thought we were going to do it. I never said it, never hinted at it.”
