The European Commission said Friday that it would deepen its investigation of the proposed merger of Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines, saying a preliminary inquiry had shown the deal could “raise serious competition concerns.” “The merged entity would have very high, if not monopolistic, market shares on all domestic routes and on a number of international routes where both parties operate,” the commission said. The Vassilakis and Laskardis groups, which control Aegean, said in February that they planned to merge the carrier with Olympic, which is owned by Marfin Investment Group.
“The prevailing conditions in the Greek economy as well as in the aviation sector dictate the combination of forces in order to maintain competitive customer prices, protect levels of employment and increase our competitiveness at a European level,” Andreas Vgenopoulos, chairman of Olympic Air, said at the time.
The merger between the two largest Greek airlines would create a flagship carrier, and reflects a broader industry trend that has seen Delta pair up with Northwest and Continental join United Airways. The combined company would have a fleet of 64 planes and 5,850 staff.
The deadline to wrap up the investigation is Dec. 7.
03.08.2010
