European Aviation Daily Icarus: Fuel falls, new German transport minister, fresh cabin crew union tensions in Germany

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European Aviation Daily Icarus: Fuel falls, new German transport minister, fresh cabin crew union tensions in Germany

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authorities, keep departure arrangements under review and avoid military and security

facilities. The Foreign Office said falling debris following missile interceptions represented the

greatest immediate risk.

Similar updates have been issued for Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,

Turkey, Cyprus and several other regional markets. EASA continues to advise airlines to avoid

substantial areas of Gulf and Middle Eastern airspace.

M&A

United approached Delta over potential mega-merger

The Wall Street Journal (27 July 2026) reports that United Airlines, on the hunt for a mega-deal,

last year approached Delta Air Lines about a merger that would have combined the two most

valuable U.S. carriers, according to people familiar with the matter. As part of the pitch, United

Chief Executive Scott Kirby made a call to Delta CEO Ed Bastian, some of the people said. Delta

leaders discussed the approach but the talks didn’t progress and both companies later moved

on from the proposal, they said.

The outreach, which hadn’t previously been reported, underscores Kirby’s appetite for taking

big swings in pursuit of his global ambitions for United. His later attempt to engage in merger

talks with American Airlines, which American rebuffed, also became public earlier this year.

The article notes that Kirby has made no secret of his respect for Delta which has successfully

targeted premium travellers, making Delta the most profitable U.S. carrier. The strategy helped

inspire United’s own transformation in recent years. Last year, United and Delta accounted for

over 90% of the industry’s profits. Kirby has said he has little appetite for smaller mergers.