EU competition law: Recent developments in aviation

The General Court of the EU dismissed the annulment actions that Niki Luftfahrt GmbH, an Austrian air carrier had brought against the European Commission (EC) decisions that approved the takeover of the Austrian legacy carrier Austrian Airlines by the German carrier Lufthansa.

A few days later, the EC accepted the commitments offered by SkyTeam members Air France/KLM, Alitalia and Delta on three transatlantic routes.

In addition and in a more general framework, the EC initiated an infringement procedure on the application of the German Minimum Wage law to the transport sector.

7th Circuit finds direct claims under EU Reg. 261/2004 unenforceable in the US

The US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit found in the case Volodarskiy et al. vs Delta Airlines, Inc. that claims of passengers under the European Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 on passenger rights in cases of flight delay and cancellation are unenforceable in the US, as long as they are not incorporated in the airline’s general terms of carriage. Such claims can only be enforced before the courts of the EU Member States.