Pinnacle Airlines (9E, Memphis International (MEM)) is set to leave Chapter 11 after a bankruptcy-court judge on Wednesday cleared the US regional carrier to become a unit of Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International (ATL)). According to the airline, since declaring bankruptcy 12 months ago, it has moved to negotiate tough deals its three main unions including "deep concessions among those workers", while at the same time cutting its operating costs via a tie up with Delta. Pinnacle is to double the number of CRJ-900s it flies for Delta to 81 while phasing out its fleet of smaller CRJ-200s. In return, Pinnacle won't have to pay fees to Delta for returning those "smaller" aircraft, which should save the company more than US$100million according to a report by FoxBusiness. Overall, the airline is confident it will leave bankruptcy by May 1, with only US Department of Transportation regulatory approval now needed.

Air Tahiti Nui (TN, Papeete Faa'a (PPT)) has filed with the US Department of Transport for antitrust immunity in its planned joint venture with Air France (AF, Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)) which will encompass metal neutrality (the practice in which an airline uses aircraft operated by alliance partners to serve its own routes) and revenue sharing on its Papeete Faa'a (PPT)-Los Angeles International (LAX)-Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) route. Its Los Angeles-Papeete route, however, is not covered in the proposal. Given France's historic ties with Tahiti, the joint venture is viewed as "essential" for the continued viability of Air Tahiti Nui as an international airline. In addition to maintaining its codeshare agreements with American Airlines (AA, Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW)), Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD)) and JAL - Japan Airlines (JL, Tokyo Haneda (HND)), the Tahitian carrier is considering partnerships with other Skyteam members Alitalia (AZ, Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International (FCO)), Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International (ATL)) and of course, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)), as a means of enhancing its competitiveness though it maintains that it has "no plans" to join Skyteam, as in its view, "the cost and burdens in joining would outweigh the benefits."

Virgin America (VX, San Francisco International (SFO)) could soon file a complaint with the US Department of Justice and other industry regulators over alleged anti-competitive practices at Newark Liberty International (EWR) by rival United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)). Virgin Group CEO, Richard Branson, in an interview with industry publication FlightGlobal, says the suit would stem from "United's rapid expansion at Newark following the arrival of Virgin America at the airport." Branson highlighted the San Francisco International (SFO) to Newark route as an example, saying United's plans to dramatically boost flights from 7 now, to 16 in June, were "incredibly anti-competitive" and designed to simply "drive Virgin out of Newark". Echoing Branson's sentiments, Virgin America chief executive David Cush believes that as the US domestic market becomes increasingly tight and competitive, Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International (ATL)), United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)) and American Airlines (AA, Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW)) will, in future, likely avoid competing directly with one another and "instead focus on squashing newcomers."

Frontier Airlines (F9, Denver International (DEN)) has announced plans to "resurrect commercial airline service in Delaware" with the launch of thrice weekly flights from Wilmington New Castle (ILG) to Chicago Midway International (MDW) and Houston George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) beginning July 1. Then, on July 2, the Colorado-based operator will launch routes to Orlando International (MCO) (twice weekly) and Denver International (DEN) (four times weekly) with another twice weekly service to Tampa International (TPA) starting on July 4. According to the Washington Post, Frontier’s decision to resume Delaware flights "brings an end to a five-year period in which the state had no commercial air service", brought on by the closure of Skybus Airlines (SX, Columbus Port Columbus International (CMH)) in 2008 and the failure of a short-lived Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International (ATL)) service to Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International (ATL) in 2007.

Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow (LHR)) is reportedly considering cooperating with Skyteam members Air France (AF, Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)) and Alitalia (AZ, Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International (FCO)) in a bid to return to profitability following reports the struggling airline will this year post a record EUR 135 million loss. According to the Financial Times, through partnerships, Virgin is looking to combat stiff competition on its US & Caribbean routes by offering more flights to the lucrative Asia, the Middle East and African markets. Analysts speculate that a tie up with Air France-KLM is the obvious choice given that Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International (ATL)), which is planning to take a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, already has a joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia on transatlantic routes.