Merger: Ryanair says it has completed the takeover of the KLM low-cost subsidiary Buzz - but the deal has still to be cleared by UK regulators. The no-frills carrier will take Buzz's six Boeing 737-300s and four of its six BAe 146s and will operate 12 of Buzz's 24 routes at increased frequencies. The four 146s will be returned to KLM next year. Ryanair now says that only 130 Buzz staff will stay with the airline. Ryanair had earlier blamed the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for delaying the merger, originally due to be completed on 1 April. But the OFT says Ryanair did not notify it of the merger in advance, and a decision will now be impossible before 30 April - the day before the merger goes ahead. Advance notification would have put the merger through far faster, the OFT says, but would have been more expensive for Ryanair.
Source: Flight International
