United took chance for possible merger with Delta last year, ran idea by Bastian

{
  "signal_id": "989110e0-65cc-0f48-2113-e1b043623d0e",
  "signal_type": "news",
  "signal_subtype": "acquires",
  "detected_at": "2026-07-27T09:32:27+00:00",
  "company": {
    "name": "United Airlines",
    "domain": "united.com"
  },
  "data": {
    "url": "https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/united-airlines-merger-delta-ecott-kirby-ed-bastian",
    "title": "United took chance for possible merger with Delta last year, ran idea by Bastian - AeroTime",
    "excerpt": "News has emerged that the CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby, approached the CEO of Delta Air Lines, Scott Bastian, with a proposed merger. According to the Wall Street Journal , which spoke with people familiar with the matter, Kirby put in a call directly to Bastian to run the idea passed him. The US newspaper reported that Delta looked at the proposal and conducted “preliminary due diligence” to assess the benefits. Ultimately the merger never got off the ground, but news of the move perhaps suggests that Kirby saw an opportunity under the Trump administration to make a deal happen. In comments on April 2026, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, said if a merger between the larger airlines formed, then “they’re going to have to peel off some of their assets”, but a decision would be made on a “case-by-case basis” . He also added that President Trump, “loves to see big deals happen”. In April 2026, news broke that Kirby discussed a possible merger with American Airlines with US President Donald Trump during a meet-up at the White House. Kirby confirmed in a statement on April 27, 2026, that he approached American about exploring a combination, but said the Fort Worth-based carrier declined to engage. “I approached American about exploring a combination because I thought we could do something incredible for customers together,” Kirby said at the time. Kirby argued that a...",
    "summary": "United Airlines' CEO Scott Kirby approached Delta Air Lines' CEO Scott Bastian with a proposed merger, which Delta ultimately did not pursue.",
    "planning": false,
    "image_url": "https://www.aerotime.aero/images/2026/07/United-Airlines-Boeing-787.jpg",
    "confidence": 0.9,
    "published_at": "2026-07-27T09:32:27Z",
    "article_sentence": "News has emerged that the CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby, approached the CEO of Delta Air Lines, Scott Bastian, with a proposed merger.",
    "related_company_name": "Delta Air Lines",
    "related_company_domain": "delta.com"
  }
}

curl https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/signals/989110e0-65cc-0f48-2113-e1b043623d0e \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY"

curl -X POST https://signals.autobound.ai/v1/companies/enrich \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $AUTOBOUND_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"domain":"united.com","limit":20}'