ALITALIA/MERIDIANA - ALITALIA/MINERVA AIRLINES (Start of investigation)
PRESS RELEASE
The Italian Antitrust Authority has started two investigations regarding agreements which Alitalia has reached with other national carriers.
The first case concerns the agreement between Alitalia and Meridiana on four national routes: Alitalia will have exclusive rights for Bologna-Palermo and Meridiana for Turin-Catania, Pisa-Catania and in some periods for Rome-Malpensa. The two companies will share flight codes and, on some routes, they have also reached a block space agreement.
The second case concerns the agreement between Alitalia and Minerva Airlines. With this agreement Alitalia franchises to Minerva its rights to 19 national routes.
Alitalia has notified the Authority of both these agreements intending that the Authority either declare them non-restrictive or, if not this, grants to the parties an exception for a limited period of time as stated in Art. 4 of Law No. 287/90. In the opinion of the Authority both agreements might be restrictive for competition, not only because of their effect on the specific routes, but also because of an overall "closure" of the network of national connections, deriving from the dominant position of Alitalia and the web of agreements which the flag carrier has stipulated with other smaller carriers. The investigations, which will close 13 January 1999, must ascertain the presence of any restrictive elements of the notified agreements as well as if there exist the necessary conditions to grant an exception, as the parties have requested.
Alitalia notified the Authority of a third agreement, stipulated with the company Azzura Air which concerns another franchising agreement on 15 routes. The Authority stated that as the routes in question are primarily international and within the European Union, they are under Art. 85 of the EU Treaty. As the competent authority for the application of Art. 85 paragraph 3 of the Treaty, regulating exceptions - Alitalia's request - is the European Commission, the Authority has decided to transmit this notification to the Commission for them to decide on.