The European Commission on
Wednesday said it has closed its investigation on the pending British Airways,
American Airlines and Iberia transatlantic joint venture, requiring the
carriers to make good on a concession that they make slots available "to
facilitate the entry or expansion of competitors on routes between London and
New York, Boston, Dallas and Miami." The carriers still await final approval
from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The EC last September said
the joint venture "may be in breach of European rules on restrictive
business practices," initiating a review. The carriers in March offered to give up slots between London and Boston, New York, Dallas and Miami in their
quest to gain antitrust immunity and move forward with their proposed joint
venture. Following a "market test," the commission today concluded
"that the commitments offered were suitable to remedy the competition
concerns and has closed its investigation."
Those commitments from the
carriers are binding for 10 years, EC said, noting that the slots the carriers
agreed to relinquish would "allow one or more competitors to operate a
total of 49 more return flights a week between London and the four affected
destinations in the U.S. On the London-New York citypair, the parties also
propose to provide the competitor with slots at New York John F. Kennedy
airport."
More than three months past
its Oct. 31 statutory deadline, U.S. DOT in mid-February this year tentatively approved the joint venture on a similar condition that the carriers relinquish
four daily slot pairs at London Heathrow Airport. That tentative approval
kicked off a 45-day comment period. Though long concluded, the carriers still await
a final blessing.
That can't come soon enough
for BA CEO Willie Walsh, who in a speech earlier this month in London said,
"As I'm sure everyone here knows, the Star and SkyTeam alliances already
operate with the benefit of transatlantic antitrust immunity. For them to
remain the only immunized alliances across the Atlantic would not be in the
consumer interest. With our Oneworld partners, we will provide customers with
choice—and we are ready."