German anti-trust regulator Bundeskartellamt has made a preliminary ruling that leisure carrier Condor is entitled under competition law to continue its feeder flight arrangement with Lufthansa Group, which the latter is attempting to terminate.
In an 8 February statement, the Bundeskartellamt says its preliminary assessment is that Condor should be allowed to continue accessing flights operated by Lufthansa to transport passengers onto its long-haul network. Lufthansa said in December 2020 that its decision to terminate the long-standing feeder flight agreement with Condor was part of a wider plan to prioritise the use of its own capacity. In January 2021, Condor – a former Lufthansa subsidiary – filed a complaint with the Bundeskartellamt, in which it alleged that Lufthansa was exploiting its "monopoly position" in seeking to terminate the arrangement. The anti-trust authority's investigation prompted Lufthansa to delay terminating the agreement with Condor from the originally planned date of 1 June 2021 until 10 May 2022. Based on its investigations, the Bundeskartellamt said on 8 February that Condor was entitled under competition law to continue accessing the Lufthansa-operated feeder flights beyond 10 May. "Our preliminary assessment is that the Lufthansa Group has a dominant position on the feeder flights market which mainly connects German airports to Condor's long-haul network. No other carrier operates more than just a few individual feeder flights to the major German hubs Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf," states Bundeskartellamt president Andreas Mundt. "Lufthansa is, therefore, subject to abuse control under competition law and has to comply with special obligations." He adds that the regulator has concerns regarding "the admissibility of the termination of [Lufthansa's] co-operation with Condor insofar as this could lead to an unfair impediment to competition on the downstream markets for long-haul flights". The agreement covers almost 90 transfer connections, on which the anti-trust regulator has asserted that loss of access for Condor would have "severe economic consequences both for the company and for competition". The Bundeskartellamt has also determined that the agreements between Lufthansa and Condor "contain further illegal impediments to competition", including what it says include limited access to booking classes, discriminatory access to seat capacities on feeder flights and limited pricing options for Condor. Lufthansa and Condor will now have an opportunity to comment on the preliminary ruling. Lufthansa Group confirms that it has received the Bundeskartellamt's draft decision, and says it will reply to the regulator and "take a comprehensive position". It declines to provide further comment.

Cathay Pacific has again decided to defer its dividend payment on preference shares issued in 2020, due on 14 February. "The terms of the preference shares, which are set out in the articles of association of the company, provide that any dividends on the preference shares which are deferred shall accumulate and constitute arrears (and that such arrears shall be entitled to dividends at the prevailing dividend rate)," the airline states in a 9 February disclosure to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific says that for as long as such arrears are outstanding, it will not distribute any dividend on its ordinary shares, nor buyback any of its ordinary shares. Previously, the airline has twice deferred its first dividend payment on preference shares, which was originally due on 16 February 2021. The preference shares are part of a HK$39 billion ($5 billion) recapitalisation plan first revealed on 9 June 2020 and completed on 12 August 2020. Cathay issued 195 million new preference shares of HK$100 each to Aviation 2020, a limited liability company of which the Hong Kong government has ultimate ownership. The per annum dividend rate on the shares is 3% for the first three years, 5% for the fourth year, 7% for the fifth year, and 9% thereafter. These are not redeemable at the option of Aviation 2020, while Cathay may at any time redeem all or some of the preference shares, at the HK$100 issue price plus any outstanding obligation arising from the dividend policy.

UK leisure carrier Jet2 is restarting flights to a range of destinations in Europe between 10 February and 14 April. The airline says it will resume services from Birmingham to Budapest, Rome, Krakow, Prague, Venice and Amsterdam; from Glasgow to Rome, Krakow and Prague; from Manchester to Barcelona, Budapest, Rome, Krakow, Nice, Prague and Pisa; and from Leeds Bradford to Barcelona, Budapest, Paris, Rome, Krakow, Prague and Amsterdam. The carrier will also resume flights from Newcastle to Rome, Krakow and Prague, it adds. In April, Jet2 will launch new twice-weekly flights from Birmingham to Athens and Barcelona. A new route to Athens will also be launched from Manchester during the month, operating at twice-weekly frequency.