News Archive

Visit our News Archive to find the news which were published previously.

printNews

Virgin Atlantic Makes Formal Complaint to EU Over IAG's Planned Purchase of Bmi
Virgin Atlantic has made a formal complaint to the European Commission about IAG's purchase of Lufthansa's British unit bmi, saying competition on some European routes would diminish and that fares would increase.

Late last year, British Airways owner IAG agreed to buy bmi for GBPÂ 172.5 million (USD$271 million), seeing off rival bidder Virgin in the race to grab loss-making bmi's coveted runway slots at London's Heathrow airport.

In its submission Virgin Atlantic said that if the deal was approved, three key domestic routes -- Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Manchester -- to and from Heathrow would become a BA monopoly. It added competition would be eradicated to some popular European destinations and that BA would have the opportunity and the means to increase fares and reduce flights on these routes.

"When BA was left the only operator on the Glasgow to Heathrow route in 2011, fares paid by Scottish travellers rocketed by 34 percent in six months," Virgin Atlantic president Richard Branson said

in a statement. "This deal will see BA holding more than half of take-off and landing slots at the UK's only major international hub -- an airport that has had much needed growth plans forcibly frozen. (Virgin Atlantic)

(published on 02/20/12)

 

Your are reading: Virgin Atlantic Makes Formal Complaint to EU Over IAG's Planned Purchase of Bmi