Analysis: “LOT v Commission (T-240/18 and T-296/18): The Commission May Depart From the Traditional Market Definition Approach Based on ‘O&D’ Routes Where the Target Airline Has Ceased Operations” by David Pérez de Lamo and Carmen Rubio Bañeres

On 20 October 2021, the General Court handed down two judgments in Cases T-240/18 and T-296/18, which dismissed LOT’s actions for annulment of the Commission’s merger decisions EasyJet/Air Berlin (M.8672) and Lufthansa/Air Berlin (M.8633). In its rulings, the General Court endorsed the Commission’s market definition approach, which departs from a long-lasting decisional practice in the air transportation sector focused on origin and destination (‘O&D’) city pair routes, and upheld its competitive assessment.

Background: The Demise of Air Berlin

Air Berlin, a German airline, had been undergoing financial difficulties since 2006 and, as a consequence of a failed restructuring which began in 2016, it initiated insolvency p