Our Curious Amalgam

The U.S. passenger airlines have been active in mergers and acquisitions since last year or so, with the Alaska/Hawaiian acquisition, the failed JetBlue/Spirit merger, and more being proposed. But how are these deals and airline competition in general analyzed from an economic perspective? Dr. Gautam Gowrisankaran, Professor of Economics at Columbia University and Senior Advisor at Cornerstone Research, speaks with Anora Wang and Kelsey Paine on market definition, calculation of market share, entry, and beyond. Listen to this episode to learn how economic analyses lay out in specific airline transactions. With special guest: Dr. Gautam Gowrisankaran, Professor of Economics, Columbia University; Senior Advisor; Cornerstone Research  Related Links: Chris Bruegge, Gautam Gowrisankaran, & Alex Gross, A Policy Function Approach to Price Effects: an Application to the JetBlue-Spirit Merger (Nov. 13, 2024) Hosted by: Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP and Kelsey Paine, Baker Botts LLP

The U.S. passenger airlines have seen waves of active mergers and acquisitions including in 2009 through 2013 and again recently since 2023. But who is involved in the legal and regulatory reviews of an airline merger? Courtney Dyer of O'Melveny and David Heffernan of Cozen O'Connor, both with extensive experiences guiding airlines through regulatory processes, speak to Kelsey Paine and Anora Wang about their deal experiences and insights. Listen to learn about origin-destination pair, route overlap, recent matters including the Alaska Airlines' acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines completed in September 2024, and beyond. With special guests: Courtney Dyer, Partner, O'Melveny & Myers LLP and David Heffernan, Chair of Transportation & Trade, Cozen O'Connor P.C. Related Links: 1. DOJ Press Release Regarding DOJ-DOT Joint Inquiry into the State of Competition in Air Travel (Oct. 24, 2024) 2. DOT Press Release Regarding Alaska/Hawaiian (Sept. 17, 2024) 3. DOJ Press Release Regarding JetBlue/Spirit (Mar. 4, 2024) Hosted by: Kelsey Paine, Baker Botts LLP and Anora Wang, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

On the occasion of Lesley Fair's retirement after 37 years in the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, she returns to Our Curious Amalgam to talk with co-hosts Alicia Downey and Jaclyn Phillips about some of the highlights of her illustrious career. Lesley has been described as “the voice of the FTC,” with a unique ability to translate the agency’s work into plain English. Listen to this episode to learn about Lesley's contributions to the evolution of U.S. consumer protection law, as well as her work with the Antitrust Law Section's Janet Steiger Fellowship program to encourage law students to follow her footsteps to rewarding careers in government service. With special guest: Lesley Fair, Former Senior Attorney, U.S. Federal Trade Commission Related Links: Federal Trade Commission Business Blog FTC Consumer Advice webpage Janet Steiger Fellowship Project Our Curious Amalgam, Episode #28 "Why All is Not Fair? Four Tips for Complying with Established FTC Advertising Principles (Feb. 2020) Hosted by: Alicia Downey, Downey Law LLC and Jaclyn Phillips, White & Case LLP

Significant changes to the Indian merger control regime came into effect in September 2024. But what has happened? Nisha Kaur Uberoi, partner at JSA law firm in Mumbai, joins Puja Patel and Matthew Hall to discuss the changes and their likely practical impact on transactions affecting India. Listen to this episode to learn more about the changes including the new deal value threshold, the codification of the material influence test for control, new timelines and procedure and the impact of new definitions on the use of the Green Channel route for approval. With special guest: Nisha Kaur Uberoi, partner, JSA advocates & solicitors Related Links: JSA article, "What the overhaul of India’s merger control regime means", 24 September 2024 India Competition Act, 2002 Competition Amendment Act, 2023 Competition Commission of India (Combinations) Regulations, 2024 Competition (Criteria for Exemption of Combinations) Rules, 2024  Notifications of the changes Hosted by: Puja Patel, A&O Shearman US LLP and Matthew Hall, McGuireWoods London LLP