Bundeskartellamt clears Air Berlin / LTU merger

After thorough examination the Bundeskartellamt has cleared the takeover of the airline LTU by Air Berlin.

In the investigation proceedings, the market for flight services to holiday destinations which, apart from the classical charter business also includes the sale of single seats, was examined. The investigation showed that holidaymakers are increasingly buying their flights not only as part of a package tour but as part of a holiday trip which they have arranged themselves.

Although the companies’ flight offers overlap on a number of routes, on some of which both have high market shares, Air Berlin / LTU do not have a dominant position because the competitive conditions effectively limit their scope for action.

The President of the Bundeskartellamt, Dr Heitzer, stated: “The offer of flight services is on the whole so large that there is at least potential competition on individual routes. Individual travellers can also switch to low-cost airlines like Ryan Air, Easy Jet and Germanwings.”

Because of their negotiating power tour operators can shift their demand for seat contingents to other providers since the carriers TUIfly and Condor (Thomas Cook), which belong to different tour operator groups, are also available to other travel agencies and individual travellers.

The outcome of the investigation showed that the requirements for prohibition are not fulfilled so that the merger project could be cleared without remedies.