Virgin To Appeal bmi Deal
SIR Richard Branson s airline Virgin Atlantic will appeal a European regulator s decision to pass the owner of British Airways takeover of bmi.
Virgin Atlantic said the deal would cause serious competitive harm at Heathrow and would place British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) in a position of total market dominance .
The £172.5 million takeover was approved by the European Commission 35 days after the deal was announced on the condition that IAG must give up 14 pairs of daily take-off and landing slots at Heathrow as a contribution to boost competition in the sector.
The deal is set to lead to up to 1200 job losses at bmi s head office at Castle Donington in Derbyshire and at regional airports, although BA said that without the acquisition, 2700 jobs could have gone.
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