British Airways near to winning antitrust bid
BRITISH Airways, American Airlines and Iberia are set to win EU antitrust clearance this week to deepen their Oneworld alliance.
The news comes as BA and Iberia are on the brink of merging, and BA chief Willie Walsh has revealed he is already planning to buy up another airline within a year.
The antitrust decision will decide whether the trio of airlines can broaden their pact to take advantage of the US/EU “Open Skies” agreement, which liberalises trans-Atlantic aviation.
The carriers, members of the Oneworld alliance, offered in March to give up a number of lucrative trans-Atlantic slots in a bid to ease competitive concerns by the European Commission. The Commission’s decision is likely to come as early as tomorrow.
The US Department of Transport in February tentatively allowed the three airlines antitrust immunity on transatlantic routes.
The three carriers have proposed to the Commission to cede some landing and take-off slots for routes from London to Dallas, London to Boston, London to Miami and possibly London to New York if competitive conditions change.