EC COMMISSION THREATENS ACTION AGAINST AIRLINES
The European Commission said it could
begin legal moves within the next month against three major
airlines - Deutsche Lufthansa AG <LHAG.F>, Alitalia Linee Aeree
Italiane Spa <AZPI.MI> and <Olympic Airways> - accusing them of
unfair fare-fixing and route sharing practices.
    The Commission also announced a move designed to put
pressure on EC ministers to agree by the end of June a new,
more liberal, airline regime, which could bring lower fares and
a greater choice of carriers for passengers.
    The Commission has for years been pushing to force EC
airlines to abandon arrangements under which they agree not to
compete against each other on price and share flights on routes
between major cities on a 50-50 basis.
    Last July, it wrote to 10 major airlines saying their
practices breach EC competition rules and demanding
undertakings that they would be revised or abolished.
    The Commission said in a statement today seven airlines
have responded positively to these letters and negotiations are
taking place on how their practices might be modified.
 Reuter
