EU starts probe into BA, American, Iberia tie-up

(Adds detail, background)

By Pete Harrison

BRUSSELS, Aug 29 (Reuters) - European Union anti-trust authorities said on Friday they had launched an investigation into a planned tie-up between British Airways , American Airlines AMR.L and Spanish carrier Iberia .

"We have opened, on our own initiative, an investigation under the treaty's anti-trust rules," European Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said, when asked about Spanish media reports of a probe.

The trio said earlier this month they had agreed to a transatlantic tie-up, taking advantage of the U.S./EU "Open Skies" agreement earlier in the year. Alliances allow airlines to share routes and resources and cut back on capacity without going through a merger.

Todd said the probe was not a routine move under merger regulations, but was at a very preliminary stage.

American, BA and Iberia intend to cooperate commercially on flights between the United States, Mexico and Canada and the European Union, Norway and Switzerland.

"Open Skies" allows airlines to access any U.S. city from any point in the European Union and vice versa, meaning previously restricted airlines can now access London's Heathrow airport.

BA and American had an application for antitrust immunity rejected in 2001 due to a shared dominance of the London airport, but they are hoping anti-trust authorities will now take a different view due to changes in their markets.

Immunity would allow the airline to compete more effectively with other transatlantic alliances already granted immunity.

Among these are the Star Alliance, which includes Germany's Lufthansa and U.S.-based UAL Corp's United Airlines; and SkyTeam, which includes BA rival Air France-KLM and U.S.-based Delta Air Lines Inc . (Editing by Mark John and David Holmes)