The International Airlines Group's (IAG) purchase of the British regional carrier BMI from the Lufthansa Group received regulatory approval in early April. The European Commission (EC) said the purchase "would not significantly impede effective competition". As part of the negotiations, IAG offered to sell 14 daily pairs of BMI's valuable London/ Heathrow slots to other airlines, with two destined to go to Transaero for its flights to Moscow. The EC accepted this concession, saying it addressed "the competition concerns we had" when the sale was first announced. IAG chief executive Willie Walsh welcomed the approval saying it would save jobs.
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