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American Airlines

said on Friday that it was not interested in a merger with United Airlines

and had not held any such talks, diminishing prospects of ⁠an industry-reshaping deal that would face tough regulatory scrutiny.

A combination of two of the largest U.S. ​network carriers would mark the ​biggest consolidation move in ​more than a decade, further tightening a domestic market already dominated by four similarly sized players. Including international flights, United and American were already the world’s two largest airlines by available ⁠capacity ‌in 2025, according to OAG data.