Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, said in a statement that he has approached American Airlines about “exploring a combination,” but that American had responded by “publicly closing the door.” He called a possible merger a “big, bold vision” but said that “without a willing partner, something this big simply can’t get done.”

According to Kirby, this merger would have been different because it would have “ushered in a brand new era of leadership by US aviation.” After all, he said, flight was born here and the storied names of the past, including both United and American, set the standards that the rest of the world aspired to. “By combining our airlines and using that scale to revolutionize our customers’ experience,” said Kirby, “we’d create a new, thriving US airline that would be the very best in the world for customers — full stop.”

While American’s public comments make it clear that a merger like this is off the table for the foreseeable future, said Kirby, “I do think it’s worth taking the time to describe in some more detail what this could have looked like.”

In the simplest terms, said Kirby, combining United and American could: 1) scale and grow a winning, customer-focused approach; 2) unlock “incredible” new opportunities for both airlines’ customers, employees and the communities they serve; and 3) create a great new US airline with the scale to compete and lead around the globe.

Kirby said that regulators would have approved the deal “because they would have recognized the benefits to customers, our shared employees and communities from coast-to-coast and around the world.”