Delta merged with Northwest to become the biggest airline in the world, and, as Aero-News put it, received “anti-trust exemptions from the federal government to form alliances to extend its reach even further”.

All well and good. Except…

Except now Delta doesn’t want Continental doing something similar — such as partnering with United and Lufthansa on transatlantic flights or anywhere else — and Delta filed a formal objection to the plan. As you probably know, alliances can be a way to get some of the benefits of mergers, without the “mess“.

So what does Continental think about Delta’s objections? We emailed spokesperson Mary Clark for a comment and she told FareCompare the following:

“From what we have seen, there’s nothing new here. It looks like another attempt by the world’s largest airline to prevent others from competing with it. We are confident the government will see through Delta’s attempt to suppress competition.” –Mary Clark, Continental