Merger with Aer Lingus: Ryanair appeals
According to Brussels, such an alliance would "result in a restriction of the choice offered to customers and, very probably, an increase in prices".
Ryanair appealed on Monday 10 September against the decision of the European Commission, which banned it from taking control of its compatriot Aer Lingus. She had already announced her intention on June 27. Ryanair "has appealed to the Court of First Instance of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg against the illegal and politically motivated decision by the Commission to ban its merger with Aer Lingus," the company said in a statement on Monday. Neelie Kroes' second veto Ryanair repeated its argument that this is "the first time the Commission has banned a merger between two airlines, which is a reversal after a 20-year-old incentive policy"
"We are confident that the General Court will overturn (the Commission's) decision in the interests of consumers and competition. As always with the European Commission, there appears to be a rule for national 'mega-carriers', and a other for Ryanair, "said Jim Callaghan, the company's legal officer.
At the end of June, Ryanair stressed that "this is the first time that a merger of European airlines has offered guaranteed price reductions of more than 100 million euros per year for the benefit of consumers".
The only veto of the Dutch Commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes, dates back to December 2004, and the ban on marriage between the Portuguese energy groups EDP and GDP.
"Prejudice to consumers"
The Commission had banned the proposed acquisition of Aer Lingus, believing that it would "prejudice consumers by eliminating competition" between the two companies and "by creating a situation of monopoly or dominant position for 35 airlines operated by the two companies ".
This would "result in a restriction of the choice offered to customers and, very likely, an increase in prices for the more than 14 million European passengers who travel each year on these lines to and from Ireland".
In the immediate future, however, the decision will not have any concrete impact because, on December 21, Ryanair withdrew its hostile takeover offer for Aer Lingus, launched in October.
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