O'Leary (Ryanair): 'Ita will fail without merger with Lufthansa'

"The only way out for the future" of Ita "is as a branch of Lufthansa, otherwise it will go bankrupt and disappear". This was said by Ryanair's ceo Michael O'Leary, speaking to a small group of international newspapers, including Ansa, in Brussels. "Lufthansa will use" the operation with the newco that has risen from the ashes of Alitalia "only to bring Italian passengers to the Munich and Frankfurt hubs, so it will not do much either for tourism or for Italian consumers," reiterated the Irish low-cost company's CEO. On the contrary, he added, 'Ryanair continues to grow strongly in Italy' and is ready to provide 'more and more competition'.

Ryanair's ceo also explained that "the solution" for a fair go-ahead from the European Commission to the negotiations between Ita and Lufthansa is "simple: there should be a transfer" of slots "to Easyjet at Milan-Linate" and "Ryanair at Rome-Fiumicino. Only then will we have real competition'. The share of slots to be ceded by the two companies, the Irish low-cost airline's CEO reiterated, should be "30%" in both airports.

"Condor is just an arm of Lufthansa" and if Ita-Lufthansa's slots are ceded to the German charter company as part of Frankfurt's commitments to get the go-ahead for the merger with the Italian newco, Ryanair is ready to appeal to the European Court of Justice. Ryanair's CEO added. "This is the way the Germans think about competition," the Irish manager attacked, adding that "Lufthansa is a big monopoly supported by the government" in Berlin. "We think the merger" between Lufthansa and Ita "must be approved" by the EU, but with "serious remedies for competition", O'Leary pointed out, stressing that the solution must be "credible".