Norway’s competition authority remains concerned that the proposed acquisition of Widerøe by Norwegian could significantly weaken competition in the aviation market. It had previously expressed worries about higher prices and fewer departures for passengers.
The authority suggests that permitting the merger would leave only Norwegian and SAS Scandinavian Airlines as the two competing airlines in Norway, potentially leading to higher fares and a reduced range of routes.
Weakened competition is particularly anticipated on routes where Norwegian and Widerøe currently compete against each other. Indirect routes between cities with flights involving a change in Oslo or Bergen are also of concern.
The authority has sent a notice to Norwegian indicating that it is considering banning the acquisition. Norwegian had proposed remedial measures related to ground services, but these were deemed insufficient to address all the competitive harm identified by the authority.
Norwegian and Widerøe have until December 8 to respond to the preliminary assessment, and the authority will make a final decision on the matter by January 3, 2024.
