Ryanair has welcomed the announcement by the Greek airline Aegean that it intends to acquire the former Greek flag carrier Olympic Air, subject to EU Competition clearance.
Ryanair says the merger mirrors the European Commission's clearance of the acquisition of British Midland by British Airways.
Ryanair will be hoping that such mergers will pave the way for it to takeover Aer Lingus.
That offer is currently being reviewed by the EU Competition Authorities.
"The merger of Aegean and Olympic is another logical merger of two EU airlines operating in the same market and mirrors this year's British Airways takeover of BMI, in the UK, and Ryanair's current offer for Aer Lingus in Ireland," Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said.
"As Europe's airlines continue to consolidate, Ryanair believes that its offer for Aer Lingus will be approved by the EU Competition Authorities if they follow the precedent set in the BA/BMI merger and this merger between Aegean and Olympic in Greece is another inevitable step in the consolidation process of Europe's smaller, former flag carrier, airlines," he added.
