Delta, Aeromexico said to appeal Trump order forcing them to end their joint venture

[Delta Air Lines Airbus A330 in flight]
Ceri Breeze/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DAL]) and Aeromexico (AERO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AERO]) have asked a U.S. appeals court to stop a Trump administration order forcing them to shutter their price- and capacity-setting joint venture, Reuters reported on Friday.

The move comes after the U.S. Department of Transportation in September ordered [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4495106-trump-admin-directs-delta-aeromexico-to-unwind-joint-venture-by-start-of-2026] the companies to end the joint venture in January 2026 because of "ongoing anticompetitive effects in U.S.-Mexico City markets that provide an unfair advantage to Delta and Aeromexico."

Delta (NYSE:DAL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DAL]) and Aeromexico (AERO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AERO]) did not immediately respond to Seeking Alpha's requests for comment.

According to Reuters, Aeromexico (AERO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AERO]) told the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals it would face substantial costs that it could not recover even if a court later upheld the joint venture.

Meanwhile, Delta (DAL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/DAL]) said its flight operations "will face severe disruptions," as per Reuters. The airline also called the Transportation Department's action "textbook arbitrary and capricious" and said it relied on "unsubstantiated, irrelevant and speculative reasoning," Reuters said.

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