Fusiones y Adquisiciones

✈ 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.

✈ Easyjet inaugurated its 10th UK base at London Southend Airport, located east of the capital on the Thames and reachable in 45 minutes. The airport, also serving Essex's dense population, was previously flown by Ryanair and the now-defunct Flybe. Following a pandemic-induced downturn, Easyjet returned three years ago with routes from Faro and Mallorca. The new base introduces three aircraft, creating 140 jobs, and will offer up to 122 weekly flights this summer, including future destinations like Lanzarote, Barcelona, and Salzburg for ski season. Easyjet also operates from London Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and recently Southampton, focusing on Mediterranean holiday destinations such as Alicante, Mallorca, Ibiza, and Málaga.

🛫 BOC Aviation, owned by Bank of China, makes its largest-ever order with the purchase of 120 aircraft, no Comac planes included. The deal comprises 70 Airbus A320neo and 50 Boeing 737Max8, bringing BOC Aviation's Airbus fleet to over 700, with 200 pending delivery, and its Boeing fleet to 139 pending delivery, including 69 Max already in use.

✈ Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France's largest, plans to spend €4.5 billion over ten years to avoid expansion, a reversal from the usual growth of such facilities. Initially, a projected Terminal 4 was to increase capacity to 168 million passengers by 2050. Instead, the current 88 million passenger capacity will be maintained until at least 2035, aided by new state taxes limiting demand. Funds will focus on decarbonizing ground operations, enhancing multimodal train-plane connections, and reducing connection times, with the Paris metro line, Lisa, extending to Terminal 2.