EC, U.S. regulators approve Lufthansa’s takeover of Swiss

EC, U.S. regulators approve Lufthansa’s takeover of Swiss    The European Commission and the U.S. competition authorities have given their approval to the takeover of Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. by Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the German airline said.
   The EC said Tuesday it has cleared the proposed acquisition, but subject to the condition that the airlines surrender slots at Zurich and Frankfurt airports and other concessions. The two airlines have approved the conditions.
   “In light of these commitments, the commission has concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition” in Europe, it said.
   The EC’s investigation showed that the proposed acquisition by Lufthansa of Swiss would eliminate or significantly reduce competition on a number of intra-European routes, most importantly Zurich/Frankfurt and Zurich/Munich, and on some long-haul routes to the United States, South Africa, Thailand and Egypt.
   The Swiss civil aviation authority has assured the EC that it would grant traffic rights to other carriers wishing to stop over in Zurich en route to the United States or other non-European Union destinations.
   Lufthansa and Swiss are the second-largest and the 29th-largest airlines in the world when measured in international scheduled freight ton-kilometers.