Lufthansa and Ita Airways propose to sacrifice 11 pairs of slots per day that they hold at Milan Linate airport – equal to 22 flights, in both directions – as part of the package of “remedies” requested by the EU Antitrust to give the go-ahead free to get married at high altitude. The two companies would also be in “advanced” negotiations with easyJet, identified as the “remedy taker”, i.e. the entity that will have to take over where, according to the EU, the two betrothed would become monopolists.
The reactions
This is what the Courier from four community sources familiar with the discussions and who underline that it is up to the parties involved to deliver the final package. Ita, Ministry of Economy, Lufthansa and European Commission did not comment. No comment “on the speculation” also from easyJet where a spokeswoman confirms that “we have committed ourselves to the process that the Commission normally conducts”.
A week’s delay
Linate – an airport a few kilometers from the city centre, preferred by corporate customers and without free spaces – is one of the three “nodes” blocking the dossier. The other two are short-haul routes (between Italy and Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium) and intercontinental (between Italy and the USA, Canada, Japan). The offices led by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager asked for some additions to the second package of “remedies” that Ita and Lufthansa sent on 11 April. For this reason, the final date of the EU opinion on the wedding proposal has been moved from 6 to 13 June 2024.
The proposal in Brussels
The Linate “node” and, in part, that of the short-haul routes appear to be the closest to the solution. According to the latest proposal communicated to the EU Antitrust – explain the EU sources – Ita and Lufthansa are willing to sell 11 pairs of slots: they would be all those that the German group holds at Linate (which includes Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Eurowings, Discover), even if the sacrifice should be shared with Ita. In this way, the reasoning goes, the union will not lead to an increase in the overall market share which will remain that of the Italian carrier (60-62%, depending on the seasons).
Negotiations with the low cost company
Not only. Ita and Lufthansa have already identified the “remedy taker”, the competitor who will have to operate the frequencies left in the overlapping routes. EasyJet should take over the Linate-Brussels route, currently operated by Ita and Brussels Airlines. Here one of the two entities – in all likelihood the Belgian company – will have to abandon the route, thus handing over the slots (3 pairs per day) to the British low cost company. On other routes (Linate-Frankfurt and Linate-Düsseldorf) it may be necessary to bring in easyJet or Condor.
The redistribution of the other slots
The other released slots will be redistributed by Assoclearance – the Italian company authorized to assign movement slots – on the basis of international rules. And in this case – continue the community sources – the take-off and landing rights should go to British Airways, Iberia, Air France-KLM, Wizz Air, thus following a ranking.
easyJet’s plans
«It’s no secret that we would like the slots that Ita and Lufthansa will have to give up and we expect to receive several of them», he recently confided to Courier Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet. The manager’s hope “is that there will be a sufficient number to allow us to open a base in Linate: the airport fits perfectly with our development plans”. According to data provided by the specialized platform Cirium, easyJet is the second company at the Milan city airport after Ita.
