EasyJet Threatens Legal Action Over French Cartel Claims

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

20 May 2003

UK-based budget carrier, EasyJet has hinted that legal action is being considered against Air France over suggestions that the firm conspired with another French airline to block foreign competition.

According to reports at the weekend, the French parliamentary commission which is looking into the collapse of Air Lib earlier this year heard on Friday that the company's former chief executive, Jean-Charles Corbet consulted with Air France's chairman, Jean-Cyril Spinetta before purchasing France's then second largest airline, AOM-Air Liberte, and establishing Air Lib in its place.

M. Corbet told the inquiry that he had acted to prevent the 48,000 take-off and landing slots at Orly Airport in Paris being snapped up by foreign budget airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet.

'For me, Air France's survival would not have been possible in 2001 if we had had the massive arrival of EasyJet and Ryanair,' he explained.

Speaking to the Times, an unnamed EasyJet spokesman revealed that the company is considering legal action against the national carrier, adding that: 'If necessary, we would call M. Corbet to give evidence'.

Following the eventual collapse of Air Lib, the French slot coordinator, COHOR was obliged to redistribute the landing rights to other airlines anyway, but the number of carriers to which the slots were distributed significantly diluted the possibility of any strong outside competition for Air France.

EasyJet's chief executive, Ray Webster, slammed the portioning out of slots to some 15 airlines, arguing that:

'The whole point of the European slot allocation rules is to increase competition against the major airlines. Yet, exactly the opposite has happened in Paris - Air France has become more dominant - as the valuable slot pool held by Air Lib has been scattered to the four winds.'

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