“We expect companies to compete with each other and if they decide to co-operate with each other we need to be satisfied the consumer is not going to suffer,” Todd said. “We will try to complete our analysis as soon as possible.”
The airlines announced their tie-up plans on 14 August. They intend to expand code-sharing on flights between Canada, the EU, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland and the US. The airlines also plan further integration of their frequent flyer programmes.
A spokeswoman for British Airways said that the Commission's decision to launch an investigation had come as no surprise. “We anticipated that the EU would review our business plans,” she said.
