It recently became known that Lufthansa is said to have offered the EU Commission further concessions regarding its planned entry into Ita Airways. However, these may not go far enough for the competition authorities.

The EU Commission is currently busy with two phase II proceedings in the aviation industry: On the one hand, the International Airlines Group wants to take over the Spanish airline Air Europa and on the other hand, Lufthansa initially intends to invest in Ita Airways with a minority stake. The full takeover of the Italian carrier is planned for a later date.

In the past, the EU Commission imposed rather lax requirements when taking over airlines, which proved to be unsuitable and ineffective as events progressed. A prime example of this is the purchase of Austrian Airlines - including state dowry from the then Austrian government - by Lufthansa. On some routes, especially in Austria-Germany traffic, take-off and landing rights should be given to competitors. In most cases, they withdrew again after a short time, so that the Lufthansa Group has a truly dominant market position. The result of this: ticket prices are high compared to routes on which there is effective competition.

Because conditions and concessions that were made in the past during airline takeovers did not have a lasting effect and consumers suffered disadvantages in the form of higher ticket prices and sometimes lower frequencies, the EU Commission is examining the cases of IAG/Air Europa and Lufthansa /Ita Airways particularly accurate. At the moment it looks like the International Airlines Group willing to make far more concessions than the Lufthansa Group. However, this is only a snapshot, as the EU Commission will not make a final decision on the two takeover projects until June 2024. Theoretically, it is then possible to sue against the decision.

Lufthansa recently made further proposals that should lead to the competition authorities approving the deal. Now Reuters reports, citing a person familiar with the matter, that the EU Commission believes the concessions offered do not go far enough. Rather, it would only be a minimal adjustment that would provide for the transfer of aircraft, take-off and landing rights and route permits to competitors. However, from the EU Commission's point of view, compared to the previous proposals, these should only be minor improvements, which would allegedly continue to be assessed as inadequate.

The EU Commission is expected to give Lufthansa formal feedback shortly. The German group can react to this and offer further concessions. The European authority does not want to make a final decision until June 2024. Then it will be clear whether the deal will be approved, will be waved through subject to conditions or will even be prohibited. As mentioned: The decision of the competition watchdog can then be appealed to the General Court of the European Union and subsequently to the European Court of Justice.