Brussels, 05/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 5 July, the Commission gave its conditional authorisation to the acquisition of Swiss International Air Lines Ltd, Switzerland's largest airline, which was created in 2002 on the back of regional carrier Crossair, by Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the largest German airline, which is a member of the Star Alliance group. The investigation carried out by the Commission shows that the agreement of 20 May 2005, by virtue of which Lufthansa acquires the majority of the shares and the exclusive control of Swiss, will either eliminate or considerably reduce competition on the several intra-European routes, including Zürich-Frankfurt and Zürich-Munich. The market analysis also pointed to the existence of indirect or network competition on long haul flights to the United States, South Africa, Thailand and Egypt. The Commission then procured the commitment of both parties to make concessions. "The commitments entered into by Lufthansa guarantee that other airlines will be able to offer new services to compete with the merged entity", declared the Commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes. Under their commitments, the parties will surrender slots in the airports of Zürich, Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Vienna, Stockholm and Copenhagen. This will allow rival companies to offer up to 41 return flights a day on the Zürich-Frankfurt and Zürich-Munich routes. Furthermore, in order to encourage newcomers, any new operator proposing flights on the same routes for at least three years, will be able to keep its "acquired rights" on the slots it obtains. This provision, which increases the value of the slots that have been freed up, greatly reduces the risk for the new operator and gives it a fair opportunity to establish its credibility as a rival, particularly as Lufthansa has undertaken not to increase its provisional offer of flights on these routes. Lastly, the Swiss civil aviation authority will grant traffic rights to other air carriers wanting to use Zürich as a hub on the flights to the United States or other destinations outside the EU. The civil aviation authorities of both countries will not regulate the prices on long haul flights.