EU competition enforcers are unlikely to appeal a court veto of their decision to clear German airline Lufthansa's E6b state bailout during the pandemic, people familiar with the matter said. Europe's second-highest court last month blasted the European Commission for its error-filled decision approving the bailout and for failing to provide incentives to get Lufthansa repay the state aid quickly. European Union governments doled out billions of euros to their airlines during the pandemic as demand shrivelled due to travel restrictions. Lufthansa's bailout was among the biggest in the sector, leading rivals to complain and Ryanair to challenge the Commission's decision at the Luxembourg-based General Court. The Court's findings of procedural shortcomings in the Commission's handling of the case means it would be difficult for the EU competition watchdog to appeal to the EU Court of Justice, Europe's highest, the people said. Such appeals are limited to points of law. The Commission declined to comment. Its options appear to be limited as Lufthansa has already repaid the state aid in full, the people said. It would also be difficult to order the airline to divest more airport slots as an order to cede up to 24 daily slots at Frankfurt and Munich airports to cut its market power has yet to be complied with due to the lack of a suitable buyer, the people said.<br/>
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Korean Air said Thursday it has requested that EU antitrust regulators extend the deadline to make a decision on whether to approve its proposed acquisition of its smaller domestic rival Asiana Airlines. Korean Air asked for more time to prepare "remedies" that can address the European Commission's (EC) competition concerns, and the EC accepted the request, the company said in a statement. "We will soon submit a remedy package and finalize the discussion with the EC within the new deadline," the statement said. The EU's executive body said on its website that it temporarily halted its review of the Korean Air-Asiana merger on June 23 (local time). The Korean national flag carrier expects the EU competition watchdog to make a final decision on its planned merger with Asiana in October from the originally scheduled Aug. 3. In 2021, Korean Air submitted documents to antitrust regulators in 14 countries for review of its integration with Asiana. The company has received approval from 11 countries, including Britain, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Turkey and China, and is awaiting a decision from Japan, the EU and the United States.<br/>
India's antitrust body is scrutinising Air India's planned merger with Vistara and has asked the company why it should not be investigated further over competition concerns, potentially delaying the process, two sources with direct knowledge said. It is a new challenge for formerly government-owned Air India, which Tata Group took over last year. The Indian airline has ambitious plans to modernise its fleet, operational systems and revenue management. In a bid to streamline businesses, Tata in November said it was merging its two full-service carriers Air India and Vistara to create a bigger airline that will take on local rivals such as IndiGo and Middle Eastern carriers that dominate outbound traffic from India. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has flagged that on some routes and categories - such as business class travel - the merged entity could have a monopoly, said one of the two sources, who declined to be named as the matter is confidential. The CCI has issued a so-called "show cause" notice to Air India to explain its position, and they have 30 days to respond, the two sources said. The CCI, Air India and Vistara did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Vistara is a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines; neither of those companies responded to requests for comment. To address the CCI's concerns, Air India could make concessions such as giving up certain routes or reducing frequency, the second source said, adding that Air India remains confident the matter can be resolved by recommending certain changes.<br/>
Singapore's state investor Temasek is selling around S$400m ($295.92m) worth of shares, or a 1.85% stake, in the country's national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA), according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The shares are priced between S$7.202 and S$7.283 per share, the sheet shows, representing a 2.89% and 3.97% discount to the last close of S$7.50 on Wednesday. Temasek will continue to be a major shareholder in SIA with a 53.5% stake, according to Reuters' calculations. Citi is the sole bookrunner on the share sale, the term sheet showed. Citi declined to comment. "As an active investor, we regularly reshape and rebalance our portfolio to deliver sustainable returns over the long term," Juliet Teo, Temasek's Head of Transportation & Logistics, said in an emailed statement in response to Reuters query on Wednesday. "We are committed to the long-term success of SIA and continue to maintain a majority stake in it," she added. SIA announced last month a record-high profit of S$2.16b for the year ended March 31, after posting losses for the past three years, and said it was off to a strong start with higher bookings to China, Japan and South Korea as pandemic curbs ended globally.<br/>