LONDON (Dow Jones)--Virgin Atlantic Monday said it is concerned that British Midland International's sale of landing slots to British Airways would lower the value of bmi for a potential buyer, adding it will ask regulators to probe any attempt to carve up bmi.
BA's owner International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (IAG.LN) Friday said it had bought six takeoff and landing slots from bmi, the British-based airline bought by Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA.XE). It didn't provide financial details of the deal.
Lufthansa has said it plans to sell the loss-making airline. The main attraction of bmi is that it holds 10% of slots at Heathrow airport, making it the second-largest owner of slots after BA which now holds 45%.
Virgin Atlantic said it has expressed interest in bmi.
Virgin Atlantic's President Richard Branson, said: "BA could be attempting to 'salami slice' bmi's key assets, increasing their dominance while leaving just an 'uncompetitive and unattractive rump' for sale."
He said the sale of slots to BA increases that airline's already dominant position at Heathrow, adding "it cannot be beneficial to the consumer in any way if BA continues to disproportionately strengthen its position and it will also undoubtedly concern bmi's staff and pilots."
Virgin Atlantic will this week write to the Office of Fair Trading and the European Commission requesting that all disposals of bmi's assets are looked at as a whole "so that competition is not diminished piecemeal without regulatory scrutiny to protect consumers."