Delta and Aeromexico both belong to SkyTeam, and Delta also owns a stake in Aeromexico. Not only that, but the two airlines have antitrust immunity for transborder flights between the United States and Mexico.
Unfortunately for the airlines, that likely won’t be the case for long — this is now expected to end as of late 2025, as US regulators are refusing to renew the agreement…
In this post:
US DOT blocks Delta & Aeromexico joint venture
The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced a slate of “America First actions to combat Mexico’s abuse of bilateral aviation agreements.” As you’d expect, this is being politicized quite a bit, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy saying the following:
“Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg deliberately allowed Mexico to break our bilateral aviation agreement. That ends today. Let these actions serve as a warning to any country who thinks it can take advantage of the U.S., our carriers, and our market. America First means fighting for the fundamental principle of fairness.”
It’s fascinating to see this announcement on a Saturday, and I imagine it’s going to make the weekends of some folks in Atlanta a little less pleasant. While there are several aspects to this, the most significant development is that it’s being proposed that Delta and Aeromexico will lose antitrust immunity for transborder flights, which they’ve had since 2016.
To be clear, even if this order is finalized, the airlines can still partner — there’s nothing preventing the airlines from offering reciprocal perks for loyalty program members, for example — but they just can’t act as one entity between the United States and Mexico in terms of pricing and scheduling. Assuming this order is finalized, Delta and Aeromexico have until the end of the IATA summer 2025 schedule to wind down their existing partnership, so that gives them until October 25, 2025.
Why is the DOT suddenly blocking this close partnership? The DOT is blaming this on actions taken by the government of Mexico in relation to Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX), which is Mexico’s largest and most important airport.
Now, it’s important to note that the DOT made a similar announcement in early 2024, under the Biden administration. However, the DOT didn’t actually follow through in finalizing the order. Under the Trump presidency, it’s being promised that they’ll follow through on this, so we’ll see how this plays out. It’s possible that negotiations take place, but this is where matters currently stand.
How Mexico City Airport is at the center of this drama
The DOT has claimed that Mexico’s process of awarding slots at Mexico City Airport has long been opaque and anticompetitive, and that Aeromexico (as the largest airline there), was the primary beneficiary. The DOT claims that due to anticompetitive rules and insufficient enforcement, Aeromexico has been able to underutilize its slot portfolio, which simultaneously keeping slots out of the hands of competitors.
While the government of Mexico committed to adopting regulatory changes to improve the predictability and transparency of its slot allocation process, that hasn’t happened.
It gets even worse than that, though. More recently, the government of Mexico has banned all cargo operations from Mexico City Airport, and has also reduced capacity at the airport over the last four IATA traffic seasons, to the detriment of both current air carriers and potential new entrants.
The government has justified these flight reductions by claiming that they’re needed for the airport to undergo a significant renovation. However, the government has also conceded that no such construction plans exist, yet it still won’t allow additional capacity at the airport, meaning existing airlines can’t add service, and new entrants can’t enter the market.
It sure seems to me like the primary motive of the government of Mexico is to continue pushing operations to the less desirable Mexico City Felipe Angeles International Airport (NLU). But that airport hasn’t been gaining traction in the same way the government has hoped, which is why it’s also important that competitors maintain access to the city’s main airport.
Bottom line
US regulators have informed Delta and Aeromexico that their antitrust immunity will expire as of late October 2025. This order still needs to be finalized, but that’s where matters currently stand. This is because of Mexico’s baseless restrictions at Mexico City Airport, which disproportionately help Aeromexico, while hurting other airlines.
Ultimately these kinds of close partnerships between airlines need to be renewed on an ongoing basis, and regulators can consider if they’re still good for consumers. I think the DOT is right here, in terms of the arrangement between the two carriers not necessarily being good for consumers anymore.
As I said above, this doesn’t mean that Delta and Aeromexico have to end their partnership. Rather, they just can’t coordinate schedules and fares, and will have to act as competitors in the market. It’s also possible that regulators in Mexico actually evolve a bit, and cooperate with the DOT.
What do you make of Delta and Aeromexico potentially losing antitrust immunity?
Simple answer is to do to them what they did to us(US). No more JFK only say ISP or ALB, nor LAX hello ONT. make the Mexican Carriers fly into airports that are also further away Plus only at lousy slot times to boot. Id bet things will change very fast
Lucky, I don't think you've posted about the new $250 visa fee, which will apply to Mexican tourists and business travelers. It's going to decimate the travel market.
Can't DL make a generous 'donation(s)' of 'SLy pesos' to sweep this 'pesky' affair under the rug ?
kinda like UA did and still got EWR capacity whacked to the point of handing the largest airline in NYC title?
can we dispense w/ this non-sense that business is capable of moving public policy? esp. in a high profile industry like the airlines
Looks like you’ll keep bringing up the point of EWR capacity limits being bad for UA, even though they’ve been asking for it for years, so I’ll just paste my last response to the last time you made your misleading claim. I’ll have it ready to go each time you twist what happened.
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We’ve already covered this, but Kirby and UA have been asking for capacity restriction at EWR for many years.
They...
Looks like you’ll keep bringing up the point of EWR capacity limits being bad for UA, even though they’ve been asking for it for years, so I’ll just paste my last response to the last time you made your misleading claim. I’ll have it ready to go each time you twist what happened.
*****************
We’ve already covered this, but Kirby and UA have been asking for capacity restriction at EWR for many years.
They got exactly what they wanted, and it’s a major victory for UA to have their crown jewel northeast hub scheduled appropriately without worrying about other airlines adding flights that won’t work.
EWR now has the same advantage LGA/JFK have enjoyed for years. Already, since the UA-requested limits went into effect, EWR has become the most reliable NYC airport.
Unless you’re saying DL took a big hit due to slot restrictions at JFK/LGA, but of course you’re not saying that. The LGA perimeter rule is what hurts DL and what DL wants to get rid of, but that won’t happen.
Okay, but then when will they be breaking up AA/JAL and United/ANA?
Because Japan is following no semblance of any other US open skies agreement (even aside from slot availability) with Haneda being rife with artificial restrictions and limitations.
The current treaty is negotiated and being followed, per how it was negotiated. Just because it doesn't resemble other open skies treaties precisely doesn't mean it's being violated.
"[Thank you President Trump for taking a] fresh look at the regulatory environment, the bureaucracy that exists in government, the level of overreach that we have seen over the last four years within our industry. I think that will be a breath of fresh air."
-Ed Bastian
Lol, no worries just throw some more $$$ and even a Sky-peso or 2 with some more sycophantic flattery and, bingo ! ... JV reinstated and DL/AM can have a near duopoly in the market !
first, I respect leaders that get things done. whether you like the current administration and its leaders, they are addressing things and I don't expect to gain at someone else's expense. if MEX slot allocation is not in line w/ global standards, then it is a shallow victory for any US company to win or be associated with one that has to win only in a protected market.
2. the AM/DL JV was suspended for...
first, I respect leaders that get things done. whether you like the current administration and its leaders, they are addressing things and I don't expect to gain at someone else's expense. if MEX slot allocation is not in line w/ global standards, then it is a shallow victory for any US company to win or be associated with one that has to win only in a protected market.
2. the AM/DL JV was suspended for a period of time not that long ago because of FAA concerns about Mexico aviation safety. There is a playbook about how DL will respond. It is precisely because the threat has been out there for so long that DL has had plenty of time to come up w/ any changes to its previous plan.
3. There is no competitive disadvantage because on US or Mexican airlines have JVs. DL did lose a slight competitive advantage (as did AM and it might be more for them than for DL). The AM/DL JV connected DL traffic largely within Mexico and increased the size of the two's non-MEX networks both of which can be replicated by their own flying if it is that valuable.
4. DL does lose a presence to Mexico from other airline hubs like ORD and MIA but DL still has its own service from both LAX and NYC to MEX which AA also does but UA does not.
5. the DL/LA JV is far more consequential just because it includes DL access to LA's S. America network which is largely in MIA, AA's hub, and gives LA access to DL's network which is largely connected to ATL which has the best connectivity in the US, and NYC.
this makes an interesting story but the consequences will be too minimal to even follow-up on; there should be no trouble finding what happened under the previous pause in the AM/DL JV if they were significant.
Leaders that get things done, huh!!
1. Did Mexico pay for the big beautiful wall? Silly me, we never built it, so how will Mexico pay for it?
2. Did the grocery prices come down?
3. Did we end Ukraine’s illegal invasion of Russia?
4. Where are Epstein files and client list?
However, we did add ~$4T to the deficit, took away healthcare and food from poor Americans, started deporting 70 year old grandmas and veterans, pardoned criminals (not Jan 6).
I'm not interested in debating politics. I am interested in discussing what both administrations did to the MEX slot issue.
Biden complained about it. Trump is taking action.
and the US is also requiring all Mexican airlines to file all of their schedules with the US government in advance of publishing them. Petty and bureaucratic but that appears to be just part of how the US sees Mexico's handling of aviation. among other things....
I'm not interested in debating politics. I am interested in discussing what both administrations did to the MEX slot issue.
Biden complained about it. Trump is taking action.
and the US is also requiring all Mexican airlines to file all of their schedules with the US government in advance of publishing them. Petty and bureaucratic but that appears to be just part of how the US sees Mexico's handling of aviation. among other things.
as for illegal border crossings. they have virtually come to a halt. it took mere months. whether you agree with the policy or not is not the point; they did what they said they would do in securing the border.
I suspect the Mexicans will figure out a way to fix the slot issue.
and the US says it is not focusing solely on Mexico. There are other countries that they may target including the Netherlands for their limits on flight activity for environmental reasons that don't follow international norms.
I am not discussing politics either. I just got intrigued by your fondness for leaders that get things “done”. So, I started thinking out loud, as to how would an intelligent and well informed man like you define “done”. That’s it. Please accept my sincerest apologies if I offended you.
no offense whatsoever.
You tried to drive a wedge and I made it clear that I am not interested in partisan politics at least here.
The president is taking steps that I hope will fix the MEX problem that was unresolved by the previous administration. Let's see what the result will be in that regard but ending the AM/DL JV won't matter because it has happened before and not a person can say what the effect really was
So Tim, you're suggesting KLM JV is next on the hit list?
@TD…must be my immigrant broken English, but as I said, I wasn’t being political. I was just comparing facts in my head, didn’t know, even facts can be partisan.
You learn something new everyday. Thanks for today’s lesson. Would you be willing to take me on as a mentee?
"the AM/DL JV was suspended for a period of time not that long ago because of FAA concerns about Mexico aviation safety. "
No it wasn't. It was because multiple US airlines complained that the Mexican government was refusing to accommodate access into Mexico City's main airport, and attempting to corral them into the secondary newer one.
It looks like Delta ends LAX to MEX flying on August 3rd.
doubtful they will if the JV ends. They couldn't have possibly processed the reality of changes to the JV over the weekend.
and, to the above, MEX wasn't in compliance with globally established slot procedures which provided the basis for anyone to complain.
and, yes, the AM/DL JV has been put on ice before.
ouch, quite the L for Atlanta!
So Bastian, how is your glowing recommendation of the chump administration working out for ya? Say what now... Can't hear ya...
that's a laughable question considering how much people have touted UA's contribution to his inaugural party was supposed to "grease the wheels" and all that has happened is that the FAA dramatically cut EWR capacity to the point that UA has lost 7 points of share - and gave DL the solid lead in NYC?
don't you think there is more than enough evidence that the government is doing its job and is not being...
that's a laughable question considering how much people have touted UA's contribution to his inaugural party was supposed to "grease the wheels" and all that has happened is that the FAA dramatically cut EWR capacity to the point that UA has lost 7 points of share - and gave DL the solid lead in NYC?
don't you think there is more than enough evidence that the government is doing its job and is not being influenced by these bribes that people like you think have or should change outcomes?
@TD….Hahahahahahahaha. Good one. I didn’t know, but man you are funny.
Dude, why don't you realize your attempt at whataboutery doesn't work? Come on man, do better.
We’ve already covered this, but Kirby and UA have been asking for capacity restriction at EWR for many years.
They got exactly what they wanted, and it’s a major victory for UA to have their crown jewel northeast hub scheduled appropriately without worrying about other airlines adding flights that won’t work.
EWR now has the same advantage LGA/JFK have enjoyed for years. Already, since the UA-requested limits went into effect, EWR has become...
We’ve already covered this, but Kirby and UA have been asking for capacity restriction at EWR for many years.
They got exactly what they wanted, and it’s a major victory for UA to have their crown jewel northeast hub scheduled appropriately without worrying about other airlines adding flights that won’t work.
EWR now has the same advantage LGA/JFK have enjoyed for years. Already, since the UA-requested limits went into effect, EWR has become the most reliable NYC airport.
Unless you’re saying DL took a big hit due to slot restrictions at JFK/LGA, but of course you’re not saying that. The LGA perimeter rule is what hurts DL and what DL wants to get rid of, but that won’t happen.
Waiting for the opinion of the wise man "Tim Dunn" on this matter.
He and all his alter ego accounts appear tied up at the moment
But ChatGPT is your friend if you just want an absent-fact delta dogma response ;)
Is this in any way due to the extreme anti-Mexico, anti-foreigner sentiment and policies being strewn by this administration?
Will Delta Medallions still get free upgrades on Aeromexico transborder flights?
This is quite significant as Mexico is a very popular destination and more US metal flies to it than compared to US-Canada transborder.
@ yoloswag420 -- I wouldn't say so, since this exact same decision was made under the Biden administration, but they ended up not actually implementing the policy.
There's simply no denying that Mexican authorities haven't been playing by the rules when it comes to allocating slots.
There's no reason this has to impact reciprocal upgrades, as that's a perk that could stick around, especially since Delta owns a stake in Aeromexico. However, that's also not...
@ yoloswag420 -- I wouldn't say so, since this exact same decision was made under the Biden administration, but they ended up not actually implementing the policy.
There's simply no denying that Mexican authorities haven't been playing by the rules when it comes to allocating slots.
There's no reason this has to impact reciprocal upgrades, as that's a perk that could stick around, especially since Delta owns a stake in Aeromexico. However, that's also not a guarantee.
I imagine that Delta will first try to fight this decision, but I doubt it'll have much luck, unless Mexican authorities reverse course.
I can attest that at least Aeromexico’s terminal is under renovation. I haven’t flown the last 6 months out of the other terminal. And that’s not just the lounges.
AM is T1 and I was in T2 four weeks ago and saw exactly zero construction or any reno. As Bette Davis says, " What a dump!"
AM is T2 and renovations are taking place.
Can’t wait for the backpedaling in this comment section by you know who….