Aeroméxico and Delta keep their US-Mexico alliance after appeals court overturns DOT breakup order

Grupo Aeroméxico, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: AERO; BMV: AERO) has removed one of the largest regulatory uncertainties hanging over its international network after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated a Department of Transportation order terminating approval and antitrust immunity for its joint venture with Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL). The ruling means the partnership remains in force, preserving the airlines’ ability to coordinate important elements of their United States-Mexico operations rather than unwinding a commercial relationship developed over almost a decade.

The Department of Transportation had ordered the antitrust immunity withdrawn in September 2025, with termination originally scheduled to become effective at the start of 2026. Aeroméxico and Delta challenged that decision, and the Eleventh Circuit granted a stay in November 2025 while judicial review proceeded.

The August 20 ruling goes substantially further than that temporary stay. By vacating the Department of Transportation order, the court allows the joint venture and its antitrust immunity to remain in effect, although Aeroméxico said it and Delta were still reviewing the opinion and potential next legal steps.

Why is antitrust immunity so important to the Aeroméxico-Delta partnership?

The joint venture permits a level of coordination that ordinary airline partnerships cannot necessarily replicate. Antitrust immunity allows Aeroméxico and Delta to coordinate areas including schedules, capacity and pricing on covered United States-Mexico routes without those activities being treated as unlawful coordination between competitors.

That framework enables the two carriers to plan their transborder networks more like an integrated commercial operation while remaining separate airlines. The partnership has been in operation since 2017 and has become deeply embedded in Aeroméxico’s cross-border strategy.

The Department of Transportation had argued that market conditions involving Mexico created competitive concerns sufficient to justify ending the immunity. The appeals court, however, concluded that the agency had not reasonably explained why its analysis of this alliance was narrower than approaches it had used in comparable cases, according to reporting on the opinion.

That makes the decision important beyond the technical legal victory. Had the original order taken effect, Aeroméxico and Delta would have been required to dismantle coordination mechanisms that had shaped schedules, commercial planning and customer offerings for years.

How important is Delta Air Lines to Aeroméxico beyond the joint venture?

Delta is more than an alliance partner. Aeroméxico disclosed in its 2026 annual filing that Delta held approximately 18.7% of its outstanding shares following Aeroméxico’s return to public markets, creating an equity relationship alongside the operational partnership.

The airlines have therefore built both financial and commercial ties around the United States-Mexico market. Aeroméxico had warned in its regulatory filings that disruption to strategic alliances could adversely affect its business and that ending the antitrust-protected elements of the Delta agreement could remove efficiencies generated since 2017.

The court decision removes that immediate downside scenario at a time when Aeroméxico continues to rely heavily on international demand. In July 2026, the airline carried approximately 2.16 million passengers, including 826,000 international passengers. International revenue passenger miles increased 0.2% year over year during July even as total passenger numbers declined 6.1%, while international demand for the first seven months increased 2.7%.

Aeroméxico also reported record second-quarter revenue of approximately US$1.5 billion, with an adjusted EBITDAR margin of 18% and an operating margin of 5%.

Does the court ruling permanently settle the Aeroméxico-Delta dispute?

It resolves the immediate threat created by the September 2025 termination order, but investors should distinguish that from assuming every regulatory question surrounding the partnership has disappeared permanently.

Aeroméxico has said it is reviewing the opinion with Delta and legal advisers, while the Department of Transportation was examining its potential response following the ruling. The regulatory relationship between the United States and Mexican aviation authorities has also involved broader disputes over airport access and competitive conditions, meaning the alliance continues to operate in a politically and legally sensitive market.

Even so, the commercial position is considerably clearer than it was before August 20. The joint venture no longer operates merely because a court temporarily paused the Department of Transportation’s termination order. The underlying order itself has now been vacated.

For Aeroméxico, that distinction preserves a structure that supports coordinated United States-Mexico operations at a time when international traffic is one of the more resilient components of its network. For Delta, it protects both a strategic airline partnership and an equity investment in its Mexican counterpart.

The ruling therefore removes a potentially disruptive operational scenario without requiring the airlines to redesign their transborder businesses. Unless a subsequent legal or regulatory action changes the outcome, Aeroméxico and Delta can continue operating the alliance under the antitrust immunity that the U.S. government had attempted to withdraw.