Fusiones y Adquisiciones

✈ Condor, the German airline, is redefining its route network due to Lufthansa's non-competitive pricing for feeding its Frankfurt hub. Launching new routes from Frankfurt with daily flights to Bangkok, Phuket, Cape Town, along with three weekly flights to Johannesburg and Panama. Additional changes include daily connections from Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, and Zurich to Frankfurt, with some routes offering three daily flights. The airline will continue serving Mediterranean vacation destinations, especially Spain.

📍 In 2024, Aeroflot transported 55 million passengers, a 17% increase from 2023, surpassing the 50 million target due to fleet efficiency improvements. President Sergei Alexandrovsky reported to Putin, without the Transport Minister present, a market share rise to 42%, operation of 349 aircraft including subsidiaries, and a 30% salary hike for the 33,500 employees. International travelers increased by 33% to 12 million, and new destinations reached 36, totaling 280 routes. Safety improved to 5,730 hours per incident.

✈ Ryanair's CEO Michael O’Leary threatens to delay receiving 25 Boeing 737 Max jets, starting August, if new tariffs raise costs. Nearly 600 of the airline's fleet are Boeing 737 models, with only about 20 being Airbus, used by the subsidiary Lauda. Similarly, Delta's CEO Ed Bastian refuses to accept 34 Airbus aircraft with added tariffs. Both airlines could postpone deliveries into the next year to avoid increased prices.

🏨 Hotel investment in Europe reached €21.9 billion in 2024, marking a 47.6% year-over-year increase and the highest level since 2019, driven by a recovery in the real estate market. The UK led with €6.83 billion, a 157% increase, accounting for 31.1% of the total. Spain followed with €3.3 billion, 14.2% above the decade's annual average. Germany experienced a 7% increase to €1.32 billion. Smaller markets, Italy and the Netherlands, saw increases of 102% and 237%, respectively, while Ireland jumped from €150 million in 2023 to €1.24 billion in 2024. Cross-border investment made up 58.6%, totaling €12.9 billion, an 81.4% increase over the previous year. Top U.S. private equity funds invested €5.9 billion. Hotel assets proved resilient with yields adjusting by 118 basis points since 2019.

🏡 Travel agencies in Baleares join hoteliers criticizing the government's decree approving 90,000 tourist rental spaces, as reported by AVIBA (Baleares Travel Agencies Business Association). The decree, passed last week, is seen as a missed opportunity to reduce tourist pressure and alleviate the housing crisis. AVIBA President Pedro Fiol calls it a strategic error during a housing crisis and increasing tourist pressure, fearing it will result in low-quality offerings and more expensive housing for residents.

💲 Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and Víctor de Aldama, former advisor to Air Europa, planned to create banks in Georgia in 2022 to channel funds from illicit operations involving Venezuelan oil importation. A meeting in Madrid at the end of 2022 discussed establishing banking entities to circumvent EU and US sanctions on Venezuelan crude since 2017. Aldama, named honorary consul of Georgia in Zamora in 2021 through Pololikashvili's influence, aimed to bypass Western vetoes and operate freely in the energy sector. The strategy included creating a tax depot or refinery in Georgia for importing fuel to Spain. Aldama and Pololikashvili's connection dates back to 2019, involving Javier Hidalgo and Begoña Gómez, Spain's prime minister's wife.

🎭 Universal to open its first theme park in Europe near London in Bedford, 80 kilometers from the English capital. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a multimillion-dollar investment, creating 28,000 jobs in construction, tourism, and artificial intelligence. Owned by American group Comcast, Universal Studios expects the opening by 2031, featuring attractions like Jurassic Park and Harry Potter, alongside hotels and leisure complexes. The deal, previously rumored for Catalonia, is now officially signed for London.

🚂 Trenitalia, Italy's state-owned trains, plans a €1 billion investment to launch the Paris-London route by 2029, challenging Eurostar's current monopoly. Stefano Antonio Donnarumma, the executive of Trenitalia, envisions an integrated, competitive, and sustainable European rail network. The British rail regulator mentioned available space at Eurostar's Temple Mills workshops for new competitors. Trenitalia has demonstrated agility in market competition and expansion across Europe, including Spain, France, Germany, and the UK.

✈ Iberia resumes flights to Washington DC on Saturday, April 12, with the Airbus A321XLR and currently has three units. The airline will increase from four weekly flights in 2024 to six weekly flights from April to August and daily connections in September and October. The inaugural flight departs from Barajas on April 12 at 11:50 AM, arriving at 3:00 PM. Washington DC is the second long-haul destination for the A321XL after Boston, and Iberia now operates direct flights to eight US cities. In the summer season, the airline schedules 140 weekly flights between the two countries, a 14% increase from the previous year, offering 1.1 million seats.

✈ Starting in July 2025, Binter will increase flight offerings between Mallorca and the Canary Islands to daily operations, adding two weekly connections to Tenerife North. This expansion results in 10 weekly frequencies, with flights from Tenerife available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and from Gran Canaria on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Over 115,000 seats will be added, marking a 43% increase compared to the previous year. Binter provides free inter-island connections, with an average of 220 daily flights across the Canary Islands.