BA and American link-up probed

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BA, together with Spanish airline partner Iberia, said earlier this month that it had signed a joint business agreement with AA to co-operate on transatlantic flights.

BA has requested US authorities to be given immunity from competition regulations (antitrust immunity) and the airline also notified EU authorities of its plans.

The EC said: "The Commission has opened an own-initiative investigation under EU antitrust rules into the intended co-operation agreement between BA, Iberia and AA, announced on 14th August."

A BA spokeswoman said: "We look forward to showing the EC how our plans will benefit consumers."

The proposed link-up has been bitterly opposed by Sir Richard Branson's airline Virgin Atlantic.

Sir Richard has described it as creating a "monster monopoly" in a deal which he says will give BA an even greater share of the market and the take-off and landing slots at Heathrow Airport.

BA has twice failed to get BA-AA link-ups approved, but the airline now argues that times have changed since the opening up of transatlantic routes through stage one of the US-EU "open skies" deal which came into effect in March this year.