EZJ 2005

Afternoon Active, unfortunately nothing new, but for anyone interested about this :


Lufthansa takeover of Eurowings angers Easyjet

Handelsblatt (English abstracts); Dec 29, 2005

UK low-cost airline Easyjet is to fight the takeover of German regional airline Eurowings, together with its no-frills subsidiary Germanwings, by Deutsche Lufthansa, Germany's flagship airline. The European Commission declared that the takeover could go ahead as long as Lufthansa was prepared to give up take-off and landing slots on three minor routes, should rivals ask for them. Lack of demand means that Lufthansa has not yet been affected by these conditions.

Easyjet described the conditions placed on the takeover as a joke and stated that the Commission seems to favour national monopolies. In a letter to Lufthansa, Easyjet demanded guarantees that the German airline would not abuse its market position. Even before approval from the EU authority at the end of last week, the UK airline had complained that Lufthansa together with Eurowings and Germanwings would have market share of 57 per cent. Easyjet may therefore take action at the European Court of Justice.