Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
Uh, a JV involving domestic competitors (DL and VX)? Not going to happen when the competitors both fly JFK-LAX/SFO as well as LAX-SFO. The DOJ would shut that down so fast with an antitrust lawsuit it would make your head spin (note that ATI/JV status is ONLY allowed for routes outside the USA... and US doesn't get to participate in the *A JV that UA has going). The only way DL and VX hook up that way is a merger.
(Note that AS and DL don't have a JV.... and AS and DL don't overlap as much on premium-heavy routes like JFK-California.)
I don't even think VS and VX are all that much related to each other. The airline is only 25% owned by foreign investors (including SRB), and the various flavo(u)rs of Virgin don't share FF programs (some partner with each other), and in fact, I couldn't find any reference stating that VS and VX codeshare with each other (VS does codeshare with DJ, and DJ does codeshare with VX, but nothing I found indicated that VX codeshares with VS).
So, I think it's a bit far out to talk about JVs involving DL and VX right now.