VIRGINAtlantic and other Gatwick-based carriers have until tomorrow to submit comments to the Office of Fair Trading on the British Airways acquisition of Cityflyer (Travel Weekly July 26).
The views will be taken into account when director-general of fair trading John Bridgeman and the Competition Commission negotiate what hourly slot cap to put on BA.
A spokesman for Virgin said the airline was determined to fight the Government’s provisional acceptance of the £75m BA-Cityflyer deal.
He said the proposed limit of 65%-70% hourly slots for BA, its franchise and subsidiary partners at Gatwick was one of Virgin’s main complaints.
“This shows it is happy for BA to dominate the airport,” he said.
A final decision on an hourly slot cap will be decided with BA by the end of the month, with the Cityflyer purchase expected to be agreed in September.