Delta, Air France alliance to get US govt approval 'in next few days' - source

The US government is on the verge of approving Delta Air Lines Inc and Air France's application for anti-trust immunity to deepen their transatlantic alliance, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.

The two airlines filed their application with the US Department of Transportation in mid-August, and sources said that the DoT has now reached the final stages of its approval process, and that there has been no opposition to the tie up.

"We were expecting something. I was told sometime ago that they could issue their decision before the end of November, so we didn't see anything, so I am waiting for the order, I think that it should be in the next few days," a source close to the negotiations said.

The US and French governments signed an open skies accord on October 19, but the French government has said it will not implement the accord until US regulators have made a decision on Delta and Air France's filing.

"We're moving on it as quickly as we can, but I can't say exactly when that will be completed," said Bill Mosley, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation in Washington

Mosley said that there is no deadline for a DoT decision on the filing, but he pointed out that the review process is also subject to approval from the Department of Justice.

A Delta Air Lines spokesman declined to make a call on when the DoT is likely to announce its decision, an approval of the filing would essentially permit Delta and Air France to operate as a single company and to coordinate ticket prices, schedules and marketing agreements, but he said that a decision is expected soon.

Asked if the DoT had been due to approve the filing by the end of November, the Delta spokesman replied: "That's what we had been led to believe."

The DoT had been due to issue a 'show cause' order by the end of November which allows industry competitors to register any final concerns they may have about the deal.

Such an order usually precedes a final DoT ruling on anti-trust applications.

"Up to this point there have not been any objections to the application. The only filings in the applications have been filings from both American (Airlines) and British Airways, and United Airlines and British Midland asking that their applications for ATI (anti-trust immunity) be considered at the same time that ours is," the spokesman said.

"Because there is not an open skies treaty between the US and the UK, that's not possible," he said.

"We had been led to believe by the DoT that they would issue their show cause order by last week," the spokesman said adding that Delta still hopes to get its ATI approval with Air France before the year is out.

Delta and Air France form part of the Sky Team alliance with Italy's Alitalia and CSA Czech Airlines.