US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao granted tentative approval on Friday for an expanded transatlantic joint venture made up of Delta, Air France KLM SA and Virgin Atlantic. The expanded joint venture would replace two previously approved arrangements in the US-United Kingdom and US-Continental Europe markets and will allow for additional benefits like more options on European flights, a Department of Transportation statement said. The Department tentatively approved antitrust immunity for the joint venture and will require the carriers to report annually on commercial cooperation efforts and provide a detailed assessment after five years, the statement said. In May 2018, the three airlines signed definitive agreements as part of a plan for an expanded transatlantic joint venture. EU antitrust regulators in February cleared Air France-KLM, Delta and Virgin Group to acquire joint control over Virgin Atlantic, saying they did not see any competition concerns. The deal involves Air France-KLM buying 31% of Virgin Atlantic from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, giving it joint control of the airline together with Delta and Virgin Group. <br/>
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BA has not detected any change in ticket bookings as a result of uncertainty around Brexit. "We are not seeing any evidence of the Brexit impact," said Willie Walsh, CE of BA parent IAG, during a results briefing. He acknowledged that Ryanair and other airlines have warned how their operations could be affected, especially by a no-deal Brexit. But he insisted: "We don't see any impact on bookings or the profile of bookings going forward in terms of the visibility that we have." Walsh suspected that BA's heavy reliance on London and the UK southeast may be one explanation for the carrier's apparent resilience. "Maybe… we are not exposed to the whole of the UK as they [competitors] would be," he says. Nevertheless, BA has put in place contingency plans for the UK's scheduled departure from the EU on 31 October. These, Walsh noted, are based on "a sensible Brexit". He said the carrier will be flexible in adjusting capacity if bookings fluctuate.<br/>