Ryanair Welcomes Aegean-Olympic Merger

MIRRORS BA/BMI AND RYANAIR/AER LINGUS MERGERS

2012-10-23 — /travelprnews.com/ — Ryanair, Europe’s only ultra low fares airline, welcomed today’s (22 Oct) announcement by Aegean Airlines that it intends to acquire former Greek flag carrier Olympic Air, subject to EU Competition Clearance.

This merger of the 2 Greek airlines mirrors the EU Commission’s recently approved merger of British Airways and British Midland (in the UK) earlier in 2012, and Ryanair’s more recent offer for Aer Lingus, which is currently being reviewed by the EU Competition Authorities.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said

“The merger of Aegean and Olympic is another logical merger of two EU airlines operating in the same market and mirrors this year’s British Airways takeover of BMI, in the UK, and Ryanair’s current offer for Aer Lingus in Ireland.

As Europe’s airlines continue to consolidate Ryanair believes that its offer for Aer Lingus will be approved by the EU Competition Authorities if they follow the precedent set in the BA/BMI merger and this merger between Aegean and Olympic in Greece is another inevitable step in the consolidation process of Europe’s smaller, former flag carrier, airlines.”

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