Only the last formalities were missing. Now that the national authorities of the Twenty-seven have also approved the operation, Ita and Lufthansa are ready to take flight together. The appointment for the fateful yes from the European Commission, as ANSA has learned, will be Wednesday, July 3.
One day ahead of the deadline set by the timetable of negotiations that have been taking place between Brussels, Rome and Frankfurt for over seven months. A happy ending that the EU team led by Margrethe Vestager and the parties are preparing to celebrate after a negotiation that has been on a rollercoaster for a long time.
Then it will take a few more months to arrive, in late autumn, at the closing of an operation through which the German ski giant will bring the Italian newco into its already extensive galaxy, initially acquiring 41% of the capital and then increasing – by 2033 – to total control with a total investment of 829 million euros. After “the decisive progress” that had led to the first positive EU orientation at a technical level on 17 June, Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti had expressed optimism while still waiting for “the Don Abbondio of the situation” to present himself.
A caution that is no longer necessary. The last procedures have been completed without a hitch, the EU positive opinion is now in the final drafting phase and the consensus of the competition authorities of the member countries has allowed Palazzo Berlaymont to set the date of the announcement. An agreement that the entourage of the German CEO Carsten Spohr, in an initial hot comment, defines as a “win-win” as it will bring “advantages for everyone: for Lufthansa, for Ita, for the Mef, for Italy and its airports, for Europe and for consumers”.
The agreement involves sacrifices on the part of the two companies to respond to antitrust concerns on three fronts considered critical: an excessively large market share in Milan-Linate, a monopoly situation on some short-haul routes between Italy and Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, and the reduction of competition in the long connections between Fiumicino and North America. All threats, in the EU’s vision, to the quality of services offered to citizens and above all to the stability of prices which risk becoming unsustainable.
In the Lombard hub, the parties will cede 15-17 pairs of slots (equal to 30-34 daily round-trip flights) – a number significantly higher than the 11 pairs owned by Lufthansa – ensuring that at least one other carrier can not only take over from the German company but also establish itself in a more structured manner at the airport, also operating new flights. The business plan of the airline that will animate the slots ceded by the Italian-German duo – easyJet is in pole position – will still have to be “solid” and pass the EU exam in the coming months.
At least one rival will then have to take over the problematic short-haul routes to Central Europe for three years. And even on long flights from Fiumicino to Chicago, Washington, San Francisco and Toronto – at the center of a tug-of-war resolved at the last minute – the pact provides for the entry of a competitor of Ita-Lufthansa capable of offering direct flights or, in alternative, of two of the carriers already present – such as rivals Air France, Iberia, British Airlines, KLM or TAP – which will be able to operate connections with a stopover in their European hubs, while guaranteeing competitive prices and that the trip does not have a greater total duration to 3 compared to direct crossings.
Strengthened by the green light from Brussels – and the influence of the transoceanic joint venture that Lufthansa forms with its North American sisters United and Canada Airlines and which will see Ita make its entry – Rome and Frankfurt will have until November to sign the agreements with the companies competitors.
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