BRUSSELS--European Union regulators sought feedback Tuesday on
an offer by Air France-KLM Group, Alitalia SpA and Delta Air Lines
Inc. that aims to address antitrust concerns over their pact to
coordinate trans-Atlantic flights.
The airlines' alliance has been under investigation by EU
regulators for almost three years. Air France-KLM, Alitalia and
Delta--which are all members of the SkyTeam Alliance group--have
agreed to coordinate schedules, pricing and capacity and share
profits on trans-Atlantic routes.
The European Commission, the bloc's central antitrust regulator,
is concerned that the cooperation may result in higher prices on
three routes--Paris-New York, for premium passengers, and
Amsterdam-New York and Rome-New York for all passengers.
The commission said Tuesday that the three airlines had offered
to make takeoff and landing slots available at both ends of the
Amsterdam-New York and Rome-New York flight routes to allow
competitors to enter the market. The airlines have also agreed to
strike deals that would allow competitors to offer tickets on their
flights and facilitate access to connecting traffic, the commission
said.
The regulator invited interested third parties to submit
comments on the airlines' proposals within one month of their
publication in the EU's Official Journal.
"If the market test confirms that the proposed commitments
remedy the competition concerns, the commission may make them
legally binding on the companies," the regulator said.
Write to Tom Fairless at tom.fairless@wsj.com
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