Fusiones y Adquisiciones

💲 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.

🏖️ Entre 2019 y 2024, las plazas hoteleras en destinos de sol y playa en España solo subieron un 0,5%, aunque el 60% de la inversión hotelera se destinó a hoteles vacacionales. Los hoteles de 4 y 5 estrellas vieron un incremento del 12% en sus plazas, con 59.875 nuevas plazas, mientras se eliminaron casi 50.000 camas en establecimientos de menor categoría. La inversión hotelera en España aumentó a 3.500 millones de euros anuales, con un enfoque en el turismo vacacional y una mejora del 37% en el RevPar en comparación con 2019. Destacan las inversiones en la Comunidad Valenciana, Baleares, Cataluña, Canarias y Andalucía, y la Costa Blanca lideró con un crecimiento del 36,5% en plazas de 4 y 5 estrellas.

🛫 Boeing, amid restructuring and U.S. government limitations on B737Max deliveries to 38 planes per month, delivered 130 aircraft in the first quarter of the year—just six fewer than Airbus's 136. Boeing also delivered 13 787 Dreamliners, seven 777s, and five 767s for non-passenger use, a significant improvement over the 83 aircraft delivered in the same period last year. Additionally, Boeing's military branch delivered 26 aircraft, up from 14 the previous year. Meanwhile, Airbus has not fully capitalized on Boeing's challenges nor enhanced its production capacity.

🏨 Grupo Riu announced the merger of Riu Hotels S.A. and Hotel San Francisco, S.A. in March for better management and efficiency, with consolidation set for summer. Post-merger, the new Riu Hotels will own 51 hotels with 26,051 rooms in 15 countries, employ over 16,900 staff, and have assets worth €4.139 billion. In 2024, the combined companies had over €1.8 billion in revenue, €702 million EBITDA, and project over €2 billion in 2025 income.

✈ Emirates' Airbus A380 with registration A6 EDF resumed flights after a 5-year hiatus, departing from Dubai to Cairo. At 19 years old, the aircraft is not considered old and has reentered service with Emirates, which faces delays in its Boeing 777X order yet to be certified. The reactivated A380 has been incorporated into the fleet without restrictions, covering routes to Zurich, Jedah, and Glasgow. Reactivation processes for grounded aircraft are costly but necessary due to new fleet delivery delays from Airbus and Boeing.

🚂 Renfe, the Spanish rail operator, suspended its expansion in France, cancelling the Toulouse-Barcelona route planned for 2024. The decision follows difficulties and delays in launching high-speed services in France. Announced in October 2024, the route would have included stops in Carcassonne and Perpignan. Renfe's strategy in France is under review, amidst complaints of non-authorization allegedly protecting French railways, despite Italian railways operating similar routes. Existing operations between Madrid-Marseille and Barcelona-Lyon remain unchanged.