{"id":191278,"date":"2026-08-21T12:00:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/?p=191278"},"modified":"2026-08-21T20:18:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:18:55","slug":"u-s-appeals-court-rules-in-favor-of-delta-and-aeromexico-preserving-joint-venture-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviacionaldia.com\/en\/2026\/08\/u-s-appeals-court-rules-in-favor-of-delta-and-aeromexico-preserving-joint-venture-agreement.html","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Delta and Aerom\u00e9xico, Preserving Joint Venture Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A U.S. court of appeals has vacated a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) order issued in September 2025 that sought to force Delta Air Lines and Aerom\u00e9xico <\/strong>to unwind their Joint Venture Alliance (JVA). The judicial ruling allows both carriers to maintain cross-border schedule coordination, pricing, and capacity management between the U.S. and Mexico, after deeming the regulatory action arbitrary and unjustified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judicial Ruling: A Setback for the USDOT Order<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit determined that the USDOT acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner when revoking approval for the alliance, which has been in place for nearly a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the court, the regulatory authority failed to provide a reasonable explanation for applying a significantly narrower market analysis than historically used in similar cases. It also failed to justify imposing approval requirements on this alliance that were not levied on equivalent agreements previously approved in Japan, such as the Joint Venture between United Airlines and All Nippon Airways (ANA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, a preliminary injunction had temporarily stayed the USDOT mandate while the legal challenge brought by both airlines was being resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2192 Delta Announces First Direct Austin-Paris Flight Starting in 2027<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Context of the Dispute and Pressure on the Mexican Aviation Sector<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The enforcement action against the Joint Venture occurred within the framework of a series of measures pushed by President Donald Trump’s administration targeting Mexico’s aviation sector over alleged antitrust and competition concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the USDOT had previously characterized this transborder alliance as “legalized collusion,” arguing that it controlled nearly 60% of operations at Mexico City\u2014considered the fourth-largest international gateway to and from the United States. For its part, Delta\u2014which holds a 20% equity stake in Aerom\u00e9xico\u2014maintained throughout proceedings that the government administration applied an unnecessarily disproportionate standard of scrutiny compared to other international agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This dispute coincided with other regulatory actions taken last year by the USDOT, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n