Ryanair’s O’Leary talks tough on German airline deal

The CE of Ryanair has taken another step in his attack on the Lufthansa-Air Berlin deal, as he promised to further his complaints to EU authorities. Air Berlin, a competitor of Ryanair, announced in September it would lease 40 crewed planes to Lufthansa. O’Leary has accused the airlines of sealing up the German market. In January, he told Reuters the agreement was “nothing other than a takeover” and a “joke.” According to the plan, part of the airline would be rented out to Lufthansa’s budget subsidiary Eurowings. O’Leary said the deal was “a takeover with the aim of dominating the market. Lufthansa controls the capacities of its most important competitor, sets the prices and decides where aircraft will start.” The CE was particularly critical of Germany’s Federal Cartel Office. “The German authorities are doing nothing,” he said. <br/>