Reports: United CEO Floated Merger with American Airlines to White House

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby reportedly floated the idea of merging with American Airlines during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in February.

Both Reuters and Bloomberg reported on the pitch, noting that Kirby suggested a combined United-American entity would be better positioned to compete with the foreign carriers that typically dominate long-haul capacity, international routes, and global market share to and from the U.S.

The report does not mean that a deal is imminent or that a merger has gained momentum. Even if both airlines were in favor of the move, significant antitrust hurdles remain as a combination of the two would create the largest airline in the world by virtually every industry metric. Based on April 2026 data, the two airlines combined would offer over 40 million seats per month, nearly double that of their closest competitor, Delta.

Since the 2000s, the U.S. aviation industry has already consolidated from a dozen major airlines down to the Big Four, which includes American, Delta, United, and Southwest.

Based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics data, United and American currently hold approximately 16% and 17% of the U.S. domestic market share, respectively. A combination of the two would control roughly 33% of all U.S. domestic traffic, and the merger would also unite two of the world’s three major alliances, Star Alliance and oneworld.

Consolidation in the airline industry has continued to be a theme for a while now. Last month, Semafor, which cited advisors working with JetBlue’s M&A planning team, reported that the airline is engaged in preliminary discussions regarding a possible merger, possibly to United, American, or Southwest. There was also the 2024 purchase of Hawaiian Airlines by Alaska, which did get approval from the DOT.

The last major blocked merger was the 2024 potential purchase of Spirit Airlines by JetBlue.