Member Article

O'Leary calls in lawyers over "corrupt charade" competition rulings

Budget airline Ryanair has launched a scathing attack on the Competition Commission (CC) following a ruling that it must sell its stake in Aer Lingus.

The Irish carrier is required to divest its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus Group plc amid concerns that it impeded Aer Lingus in its commercial strategy and prevented the airline being acquired.

A statement from the CC said it recognised a “tension” between Ryanair’s position as a competitor and its position as Aer Lingus’s largest shareholder, and it had an interest in weakening its competitor.

Ryanair’s outspoken boss, Michael O’Leary, called the move “bizarre and manifestly wrong.”

He accused the CC of taking a prejudicial approach to the case and branded the investigation a “corrupt and politically biased charade.”

Ryanair say the ruling goes against findings by the European Commission in February that competition between the two airlines has intensified, and suggest that in seven years of owning the stake there had been no issues.

The CC have dismissed Ryanair’s package of remedies, which included an unconditional sale of the stake to any airline that makes a successful bid for Aer Lingus and support for Aer Lingus’ rights issues and any disposal of Aer Lingus’ Heathrow slots.

Mr O’Leary said: “This report by the UKCC is bizarre and manifestly wrong but also entirely expected. From the first meeting with the UKCC it has been clear to us that Simon Polito’s and Roger Davis’ minds had been made up in advance and no truth or evidence was going to get in the way of their story. This prejudicial approach to an Irish airline is very disturbing, coming from an English government body that regards itself a model competition authority.

“Polito’s and Davis’ ignoring of evidence, their conduct of a manifestly unfair investigation, their omission of all the substantial body of evidence that conclusively disproves their case, and their rejection of Ryanair’s unprecedented undertakings (which patently address their three invented future concerns), all in a misguided pursuit of their pre-determined conclusion, demonstrate that this process was not a competition investigation but merely a corrupt and politically biased charade.”

Colm Barrington, chairman of Aer Lingus, said: “Today’s final report by the UK Competition Commission confirms that the minority shareholding in Aer Lingus held by our closest competitor, is anti-competitive and contrary to the interests of the approximately 14 million passengers who fly on routes between the island of Ireland and Great Britain. The Competition Commission should be commended on its thorough investigation and we look forward to the implementation of its findings.

“It was unacceptable that our principal competitor was allowed to remain on our share register with a shareholding of 29.82% and interfere with our business despite the European Commission blocking both Ryanair’s first hostile takeover attempt six years ago and its most recent hostile takeover attempt earlier this year.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .