United Airlines CEO pitched American Airlines merger to Trump, sources say

NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsUnited Airlines CEO pitched American Airlines merger to Trump, sources sayA combination of two of the largest US network carriers would mark the biggest consolidation move in more than a decadeDavid Shepardson & Rajesh Kumar SinghTuesday 14 April 2026 09:42 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2957145","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-united-american-airlines-merger-stock-b2957145.html","title":"United Airlines CEO pitched American Airlines merger to Trump, sources say"}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-10954","index":0}United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby pitched the potential for merging with American Airlines in a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump (Reuters)Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailGet our free Inside Washington emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_INSIDE_WASHINGTON","regTitle":"Inside Washington","subscriptionGroup":"inside_washington","subscriptionGroupId":"af764e04-87eb-45e6-a84b-a7455ba70a1e","type":"inside_washington","pathPrefix":"/news/world/americas/us-politics","associatedAuthors":["Eric Garcia","John Bowden"],"title":"Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Washington email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/insideWashington1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus bre...