United Chased Delta and American. Now Airline M&A Has Stalled

United Airlines has been on the hunt for mega-deals, but none have materialized. United pitched a merger to Delta Air Lines, a deal that would have combined two of the most profitable U.S. carriers, according to a report Sunday from The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. United CEO Scott Kirby approached Delta CEO Ed Bastian about the tie-up, according to the report. Delta discussed the merger and assessed the merits of such a deal as part of due diligence, but the talks didn’t progress further. The two companies then moved on from the proposal. Since fuel prices surged in the wake of the Iran war, it was largely expected that a frenzy of M&A would occur in the airline industry as d