CZECH Railways (ČD) and private operator RegioJet have settled the so-called Falcon case after an investigation found that there was no breach of competition rules relating to discounted tickets offered by ČD for travel between Prague and Ostrava.
Just one week after RegioJet operated its first open-access passenger service in competition with ČD on the route in 2011, ČD reduced its fares to 30% below the cost of equivalent RegioJet tickets.
RegioJet subsequently filed a complaint with the European Commission and the Czech Republic’s competition authority, the Office for the Protection of Economic Competition (UOHS), covering the period from September 26 2011 to April 30 2014.
ČD faced making a possible Koruna 717m ($US 30m) compensation payment to RegioJet if it was found to be in violation of competition regulations. After the ensuing investigation found no evidence of a breach, both parties agreed to stop the proceedings and to cease providing further information to the authorities.
“Both companies express the hope that the end of the disputes will contribute to the settlement of mutual relations and support the further development of sustainable public transport in the Czech Republic, based on healthy competition in the area of price and quality of services,” ČD and RegioJet said in a statement.
Fellow Czech private operator Leo Express also withdrew a similar lawsuit in 2023 over ČD’s alleged practices on Prague - Ostrava route.
