EU voices concerns over Lufthansa Air Berlin bid

The EU said Friday it was concerned about the impact on competition of Lufthansa's plan to take over routes operated by failed rival Air Berlin. "We have quite deep competition concerns because there is a risk that on some routes Lufthansa becomes de facto a monopoly," EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. The warning comes a week after Lufthansa offered concessions to encourage the EC to green-light its planned purchase of parts of Air Berlin. Lufthansa hopes to pay E210m (US$250m) for 81 aircraft from Air Berlin's 140-strong fleet, plus take-off and landing slots, as well as Austrian subsidiary Niki. But Vestager said she now wanted input from customers and competitors in the European aviation market to dispel any anti-trust doubts concerning the purchase. <br/>
AFPI
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/eu-voices-concerns-over-lufthansa-air-berlin-bid-9482844
12/8/17
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