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General Court upholds prohibition of acquisition of Aer Lingus by Ryanair

On 6 July 2010, the General Court of the European Union upheld European Commission's prohibition of the acquisition of Aer Lingus by Ryanair.

The Commission had prohibited the takeover in 2007 on the grounds that the acquisition would have created a quasi-monopolist on a large number of short-haul routes out of Ireland. Ryanair appealed the decision to the General Court (formerly the Court of First Instance), arguing that the Commission's analysis, including its econometric assessment of the competitive interaction between the two carriers, was flawed. The General Court found that none of the arguments put forward by Ryanair were capable of calling the Commission's findings into question and dismissed the appeal in its entirety.

A CRA team advised Aer Lingus throughout the Commission's investigation and the appeal proceedings. Cristina Caffarra presented at the General Court on behalf of Aer Lingus, explaining how CRA's analyses supported the Commission's findings. The CRA team also included Giulio Federico and Hugh Wills.

See the General Court's press release and judgement for further details.

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