Panel Votes to Delay Airline Competition Rules

A House committee voted unanimously to make airlines seek Transportation Department approval before they enter code-sharing pacts or merge frequent-flier programs. But in a victory for major carriers, the committee voted to delay until next year guidelines that the airlines said would wind back deregulation and prevent them from legitimately competing with low-fare competitors. The Transportation Department proposed the guidelines in April after examining cases of low-fare carriers being driven out of markets by predatory pricing. The proposed legislation would affect three alliances announced this year by major airlines that some industry experts have called “virtual mergers.”