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By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – British Airways owner IAG has again offered remedies to the European Commission aimed at securing EU approval of its takeover of Spain’s Air Europa.
“We submitted a new remedy package with some adjustments compared to the previous one,” IAG said in an email.
“It includes improvements that have come from the constructive dialogue we have been maintaining with the European Commission, with the aim of ensuring that the acquisition of Air Europa is carried out with all guarantees for consumers.”
IAG, which owns Spanish airline Iberia, had proposed remedies in February which the EU’s competition enforcer deemed insufficient.
The latest set of concessions will see Air Europa cede 52% of its 2023 flights to rivals and includes the names of competitors that have signed memoranda of understanding with IAG, a person familiar with the matter said.
The Commission, which usually seeks feedback from rivals and customers before deciding whether to accept remedies, has extended the deadline for its decision to Aug. 20.
IAG last month said it was in talks with Avianca, Binter, Iberojet, Ryanair, Volotea, and World2Fly to cede short-haul and long-haul routes to its rivals.
IAG is paying 400 million euros ($429 million) to Spanish tourism company Globalia for the 80% of Air Europa it does not own.
($1 = 0.9321 euros)