Issue II

Introductory Remarks On Merger Ryanair/ Aer Lingus

In 2007 the Commission prohibited for the first time such and attempt. Our decision was later upheld by the EU General Court, who rejected Ryanair's appeal.

In 2009, Ryanair notified the acquisition to the Commission but then decided to withdraw it. So, this is the second time that the Commission had the opportunity to assess such as transaction in depth.

On the other routes the only competitive constraint would have been exercised by airlines with a different business model, such as charter airlines or large airlines that focus on connecting flights and this constraint would have been too weak.

The number of air transport routes where Aer Lingus and Ryanair compete directly against each other also increased from 35 to 46.

The most likely outcome of this transaction would have been quite simple: When flying to and from Ireland, passengers wouldn't have been able to choose between as many as they can today, and they would have ended up paying higher fares.

SUMMARY: On our opinion, Aer Lingus, the Irish flag carrier, is low cost airline Ryanair. This transaction would have combined the two airlines operating fron Ireland. Currently these two airlines are competing head to head. We studied them with great care and we carried out gathering views from competitors, customers and airport operators. The market position of the two companies on flight to and from Ireland are stronger today than day were in 2007.

Airlines that passengers need  on the many routes on which both airlines compete. For the citizens who will travel on this flights inn the coming years, it has a positive impact. Customer also can continue and join from the benefits of competition between Ryanair and AerLingus. Other than that, customer can get better choice of services and also lower fares.