IAG receives EC approval for BMI acquisition

2nd Apr 2012 08:49

The European Commission granted International Airlines Group (IAG) the authorisation needed to acquire British Midland Limited (BMI) from Lufthansa, adding that competition concerns were addressed by conditions that were part of the deal.In the coming months, IAG plans to integrate BMI with British Airways. Conditions on the approval included:- Seven daily slot pairs will be used by Heathrow and Edinburgh and/or Aberdeen.- Five daily slot pairs will be used by Heathrow and the following destinations: Nice; Cairo; Riad; Moscow; Edinburgh; and/or Aberdeen.- Two daily slot pairs at Heathrow will be leased to Transearo for services to Moscow.- Other airlines may request seats in the British Airways and BMI short and medium-haul network for connecting passengers under market commercial conditions.IBERIA PILOTS ON STRIKEIberia, the Spanish airline operated by IAG, has announced that domestic flights will be affected by a pilot strike that will start on Monday April 9th. Iberia has allowed bookings to be more flexible in order to allow for exchanges or refunds for affected passengers. Also, a contingency plan has been put in place in order to provide alternatives to passengers.Iberia will announce the list of flights available during the coming strikes.By 09:09, IAG was trading up 1.62% and 0.6% in London and Madrid, respectively.S.B.