WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Justice Department's Antitrust Division and the Department of Transportation have jointly announced a broad public inquiry into the state of competition in U.S. air travel industry.
The agencies are seeking public information on consolidation, anticompetitive conduct, and a wide range of issues affecting the availability and affordability of air travel options. The topics covered in the agencies' joint Request for Information (RFI) include previous airline mergers, exclusionary conduct, airport access, aircraft manufacturing, airline ticket sales, pricing, and rewards practices, and the experiences of aviation workers.
'Competition in air travel is a vehicle for better quality, better fares, and better choices for Americans,' said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. 'With this inquiry, we hope to learn more from the businesses and travelers at the center of this essential industry. Their feedback will ensure the Justice Department can continue to build on its historic efforts to protect competition in air travel.'
'Good service and fair prices depend on ensuring that there is real competition, which is especially challenging for the many American communities that have lost service amid airline consolidation. Our goal with this inquiry is to identify and remove barriers to competition so that more Americans can access the opportunities that come with good, affordable air service,' said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The agencies jointly issued the RFI requesting public comments explaining how the air travel industry has been impacted by consolidation and anticompetitive practices and identifying ways to address any harms to competition.
Key topics in the RFI include General state of competition in the aviation sector, Airline consolidation , Airport access, Aircraft manufacturing, Air transportation sales channels, pricing, and airline rewards programs, and Labor market issues .
The public will have 60 days to submit comments at Regulations.gov, no later than December 23. Once submitted, comments will be posted to Regulations.gov.
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