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Air Canada seeks to address EU concerns on Transat purchase

FILE PHOTO: An Air Canada Airbus A320 airplane prepares to land at Vancouver's international airport in Richmond,

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Air Canada has offered concessions related to its proposed acquisition of Canadian tour operator Transat to address EU antitrust concerns, a European Commission filing showed on Thursday.

The Commission, which oversees competition policy in the 27-nation European Union, said the commitments had been submitted on Nov. 25. As a result it, it has extended the deadline for its decision by three weeks to Jan. 29.

The Commission opened an investigation in May on concerns that the deal could push up prices and reduce choice for flights between Europe and Canada.

Air Canada last month cut its offer price for Transat bynearly 75% to about C$188.7 million ($145.13 million) because ofthe COVID-19 impact on travel demand.

($1 = 1.3002 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, editing by Marine Strauss)