WILMINGTON, Del. -- ANC Rental Corp. won a key bankruptcy court ruling May 22, when a judge rejected attempts by Hertz and Avis to block their competitor from combining its Alamo and National operations at numerous airports nationwide.

"Hertz and Avis have failed to demonstrate the necessary irreparable harm" that's required to grant a stay of relief, wrote U.S. District Judge Gregory Sleet in his ruling.

The court rejected Hertz and Avis' claim that permitting the Alamo and National brands to op-erate from a single counter, under a single concession agreement, would give ANC an unfair competitive advantage. The ruling stated that "revenues and customers lost to competition, which can be regained through competition, are not irreparable." The court found that Hertz and Avis failed to demonstrate that "approval for consolidation would result in a tangible financial or other loss to them." "Wednesday’s rulings were very significant for us," said Larry Ramaekers, CEO and President of ANC Rental Corporation, following the decision. "The denial for stays thwarted a major strategy for Hertz and Avis, and it was a major win for us. We were particularly pleased with the court’s admonition that the marketplace is where Hertz and Avis should focus to correct any alleged harm they suf-fered." Hertz and Avis have argued that ANC is legally bound by the existing –- and separate -- contracts that Alamo and National have with individual airport authorities. Hertz and Avis have also filed a series of lawsuits against airport authorities that have given ANC the green light for consolidation.

"It is the position of Avis that the concession we operate from –- and the concessions of Alamo, National, Hertz and all the other players that operate on the airport -- are competitively bid," said Bob Muhs, vice president of governmental affairs for Avis, in an interview earlier this year. "And they’re competitively bid for a period of time. That period of time has not expired, and we don’t believe that the airport has the unilateral authority to engage in rewriting contracts without putting them all out to rebid." Also on May 22, ANC drew court approval to operate its Alamo and National brands under a single concession agreement at 10 additional airports nationwide. The airports approved in the ruling are located in Tampa, Fla.; Reno, Nev.; St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Moline, Ill.; Eugene, Ore.; Lubbock, Texas; Aspen, Col.; and Fort Walton Beach, Fla. The court’s approval for the airport in Fort Walton Beach is particularly meaningful because it represents the first consolidation approved over an airport’s objections.