EU to review Continental, UAL flight deal

Continental Airlines Inc.'s plan to coordinate transatlantic flights with members of the Star Alliance, which includes UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and Deutsche Lufthansa AG, is being reviewed by European regulators.

The investigation by the European Commission in Brussels is a "routine procedural step," said David Messing, a spokesman for Houston-based Continental.

"We've been participating in it with them just as we did simultaneously with the U.S. Department of Transportation," Messing said. "We expect that the European Commission will reach a similar conclusion to the tentative conclusion the DOT reached, which is that the alliance should be granted antitrust immunity because of all the positive consumer benefits it delivers."

Carriers use alliances to funnel passengers to each others' networks and to gain efficiencies by cooperating on route planning, marketing and setting prices.

Continental, the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, secured approval from the U.S. Transportation Department on April 7 to jointly plan pricing, schedules and marketing with the carriers. The carrier sought government approval in July to collaborate in the Star Alliance.

Continental has no indication how long the review will last, Messing said. Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the EU, declined to comment.