 On 23 October 2001 , the Competition Authority granted permission for SAS to purchase Braathens . The rationale was that there were no other realistic purchasers for the airline , and that a bankruptcy was imminent without the take @-@ over . As a condition , the authority decided to regulate a ban on frequent flyer programs , and stated that it would ban cross @-@ subsidization aimed at underbidding or operating at a loss to force new entrants out of the market . 
