Chile high court rejects LATAM route deal with American, BA and Iberia

Chile’s Supreme Court Thursday struck down a proposed deal on routes between carriers LATAM Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia, upending an agreement meant to reshape international air travel in Latin America. The decision comes more than 2years after the carriers announced their plans, termed a joint business agreement. At the time it was seen as a bold move to save costs, coordinate prices and run routes more efficiently, but also raised antitrust concerns. “We are in the presence of an agreement between competitors ... who individually each have relevant market shares and who would acquire a joint market power that would be hard to challenge in a post-deal scenario,” 4 judges wrote in their decision. LATAM said it was “surprised” by the decision and that it was a “step backward” for Chile. <br/>