EU opens probes into Star, oneworld alliances

The European Union says it has opened antitrust investigations into trans-Atlantic routes of Star and oneworld airline alliances.

The EU Commission said Monday that the cooperation within the two groups on the lucrative Europe-North America routes "appears far more extensive " than the joint approach on other routes.

EU antitrust officials will now check whether the trans-Atlantic cooperation represents a restriction of business competition which might hurt consumers and other companies.

The Star Alliance includes Air Canada, Lufthansa and United. Oneworld members include American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia.