On Tuesday 23 January, the European Commission announced that it had opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition of joint control of Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A. (ITA) by Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Lufthansa) and the Italian State through the purchase of shares. The proposed merger was notified to the Commission on 30 November 2023.
The Commission has taken the preliminary view that the merger could affect competition on the market for passenger air transport services on several routes to and from Italy. In particular, it noted that the transaction could reduce competition on short-haul routes linking Italy to Central European countries.
Lufthansa also has a joint venture with United Airlines and Air Canada. With regard to long-haul routes between Italy and North America, the Commission has announced that it will examine whether the activities of ITA, Lufthansa and its joint venture partners should be considered as the activities of a single entity following the notified operation.
The merger could also reduce competition on certain long-haul routes between Italy and the United States, Canada, Japan and India.
In addition, the institution has preliminary concerns that the merger could place ITA in a dominant position at Milano-Linate airport or strengthen such a position.
Finally, the Commission has announced that it will examine the possible negative effects of the proposed merger on “routes for which other airlines rely on ITA’s domestic and short-haul network”.
On 8 January 2024, Lufthansa offered commitments to remedy certain competition concerns identified by the Commission on a preliminary basis. However, the Commission felt that these commitments were unsatisfactory “both in terms of their scope and their effectiveness”.
The Commission must adopt a decision by 6 June 2024.
Link to the case in the Commission’s register: https://aeur.eu/f/aj4 (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)