House Transportation chairman says he’s opposing United-Continental deal

Oberstar opposes United-Continental deal

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Transportation committee is asking the Justice Department to block the planned combination of United Airlines and Continental.

Congressman Jim Oberstar is a Democrat from Minnesota. He says the United-Continental deal will move the country toward having an airline system dominated by three mega-carriers. The deal would make United the world’s largest airline.

In 2008, Oberstar opposed the purchase of Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines by Delta Air Lines. Antitrust regulators approved it anyway.

United and Continental have said only a handful of their domestic routes overlap.

The deal needs approval from antitrust regulators and shareholders. The companies are hoping to close it by the end of the year.