newstodate.aero

Jan 02, 2024 (newstodate): Long in the balance, the planned acquisition by Norwegian of the Norwegian regional carrier Wideroe, announced early in July 2023, is now finally approved by the country's Competition Authority.
   On November 17, the Competition Authority notified that it was considering intervening in Norwegian's acquisition of Wideroe, giving Norwegian respite until December 8 to respond to the notice, with the deadline for the Competition Authority's final conclusion set at January 3, 2024.
   Eventually, Norwegian managed to convince the Authority of its case after vehemently repudiating the conclusions drawn by the Authority.
   Not surprisingly, SAS maintained its position that an acquisition merging the two airlines would severely damage the competitive situation in the Norwegian market to the detriment of consumers.
   For Wideroe, the issue is of vital importance; the carrier's financial situation is in a bad shape, further accelerated by the costs from introducing three new Embraer E190 aircraft.
   With green lights ahead, the acquisition will give customers a stronger route offering and more flight options, and for Norwegian the transaction will enable the linking of complementary route networks, create significant operational synergies and add diversification through Wideroe’s PSO routes.
   On the cargo side, the coming merger bodes well, too, according to Wideroe Cargo as reported by newstodate in August 2023:
    -At this stage we are not in a position to reveal plans and visions for air cargo, but we are of course highly optimistic, said Thomas Lone, Wideroe Cargo Manager.
   -Norwegian does not have an own cargo organization after the restructuring, while Wideroe Cargo has been building up a strong organization and expanded in several markets with partners.
   -The UK market is of special importance for Wideroe Cargo handling increasing volumes of cargo for customers notably in the oil and gas industries. And both Norwegian and Wideroe Cargo are served by the same GSSA, Wexco, in the UK market.
   -Wideroe Cargo has also deepened its long-standing cooperation with Jetpak which has proved of significant importance in developing the e-trade logistics serving the markets in Northern Norway by reducing lead-times from 4–6 days to next-day deliveries. This has opened up an entirely new market for us, with great potentials.
   -All in all, Wideroe Cargo has been growing year by year, and we can hardly wait to enter our new chapter once the acquisition has been approved, said Mr Lone.