Euro court rejects Air France-KLM merger complaint
EasyJet has expressed “disappointment” at a decision by the European Court of First Instance to reject its complaints over the Air France/KLM merger.
The combination of two of Europe’s major national airlines was approved two years ago.
But easyJet chief executive Andy Harrison said: “This merger was waved through by the Commission without the due consideration it deserved. We had hoped the Court would give the European Commission a rap over the knuckles for bowing to political pressure and agreeing the merger in double-quick time.
“The fact of the matter remains that France suffers from the least competition and the highest air fares of any major European country. The European Commission had a great opportunity to address this profound structural failing by using the Air France / KLM case to inject some genuine and much-needed competition into the market. We were disappointed with the Commission’s initial decision and we are disappointed with today’s Court ruling. Once again, it is consumers that lose out.
“We will keep fighting for consumer interests. We still have a legal case outstanding against the European Commission relating to the Air France/Alitalia alliance.
“Shockingly, airport slots that were handed over by the two airlines to enable competition between France and Italy are still unused despite numerous requests by easyJet.”
Phil Davies
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