Lufthansa has barely received approval from the European Union to acquire 41% of ITA Airways and its name is already associated with attempts to acquire other airlines that operate independently.
The German group’s first target is TAP Air Portugal, which has once again become state-owned, but is about to be offered to the market.
A few days ago, Germany’s WirtschaftsWoche revealed that a team from the German company visited Air Europa’s headquarters in Llucmajor to conduct a more detailed analysis of the Spanish low-cost carrier’s financial situation.
Follow Air Data News: WhatsApp | Google News | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Air Europa, which belongs to Globalia, had its acquisition by the IAG Group frustrated after months of back and forth, but it still holds 20% of its shares.
A Lufthansa move would run into the same problem as ITA, the reluctance of antitrust agencies to concentrate so much market share in just one group.
Both TAP and Air Europa have an advantage over Lufthansa, the network of important flights to South America, but it seems unlikely that either will be approached. The logical thing would be for one of them to serve as a plan B in case of a rejected offer.
Investment before airBaltic’s IPO
On Tuesday, another airline became Lufthansa’s target, airBaltic, the flag carrier of Latvia, whose government owns 98% of the shares.
Sources from Reuters and Bloomberg said that the German company could acquire a chunk of airBaltic before its capital is listed on the Riga Stock Exchange.
With a fleet of 48 A220-300s, airBaltic has been providing wet-leasing services to Lufthansa itself, a partnership that is set to expand in 2025.
Whether the Frankfurt-based company has the wherewithal to expand to such a large extent remains to be seen.
