EU Reject Ryanair takeover of Aer Lingus

[Hangar6]

Fares

Yes I recall EI to STN £29 one way into an empty terminal brand spanking new at the time FR started Lon from Dub their far was £108 return to undercut EI apex far ( do ye recall all that advance booking Saturday stay nonsense) of £109 and true executive class fare was I believe £280 , madness

So a good political interference to bail out Fr in order to have true completion and prevent predatory moves from EI and Ba the lady in charge of dept transport who made that happen irony of ironies is with Fr now on the merger task force....


I worked for both airlines and want both to prosper and think politics can and does help at times

[EI-A330-300]

It's Offical

EUROPA - PRESS RELEASES - Press Release - Mergers: Commission prohibits Ryanair's proposed takeover of Aer Lingus
Part that stands out:

However, the Commission's investigation demonstrated that these remedies were insufficient to ensure that customers would not be harmed, taking into account the scope and magnitude of the competition concerns raised by the proposed transaction on the 46 routes. In particular, the Commission found that Flybe was not a suitable purchaser capable of competing sufficiently with the Ryanair/Aer Lingus merged entity. The investigation also showed that IAG/British Airways would not constrain the merged entity to a sufficient degree and would have little incentive to stay on the routes beyond a 3 year period. In addition, the Commission could not conclude with the requisite degree of certainty that the proposed commitments could actually be put in place in a timely manner. Nor was it certain that they would work in practice and for a sustained period of time.

Further details:
EUROPA - PRESS RELEASES - Press Release - Mergers: Commission prohibits Ryanair's proposed takeover of Aer Lingus

[Hangar6]

Bid

Reading this I feel EU found the remedies lacked credibility, mmmm no surprise there then. Court in Ireland has found the same issue on occasion and its a hard one for FR to get over, but its a pretty firm rejection