Swaportunities: British Airways, American and friends offer EU to lease Heathrow slots

"The Commission believes at this stage that the commitments address its competition concerns…If the market test confirms that the proposed commitments remedy the competition concerns, the Commission may adopt a decision...making the commitments legally binding on the parties,": European Commission, 10-Mar-2010. AP quoted EU spokeswoman Amelia Torres as saying "the offer could see rivals start two extra daily flights each from London to New York and from London to Boston and one more daily service from London to Dallas and from London to Miami." In a bid to ease the passage of EU Commission approval of their north Atlantic joint venture, British Airways and its would-be partners have offered to provide additional access to valuable Heathrow slots for selected city pairs. Will this be sufficient to appease the opposition? The EU appears to be leaning towards approval.