SAS board resigns over Maersk alliance

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The board of directors of Scandinavian airline SAS, parent of SAS Trading, resigned today, after EU Commission criticism of the company's proposed alliance with Danish carrier Maersk Air.

The Commission claimed that the 1999 cooperation agreement between the airlines was in breach of EU competition law. It claimed the companies had secretly split market share in the region, a move that was not part of the original cooperation agreement. Both companies admitted the breaches and were heavily fined in July this year.

Although the Commission said it was satisfied that the directors were unaware of the secret agreement at the time, it said they did not take action swiftly or strongly enough to investigate suspicions of impropriety at management level.

The EU review commission published its report into the affair yesterday, prompting the board's resignation today.

Further news on this story, including any repercussions for SAS Trading will appear on TRW throughout the week.