Fusiones y Adquisiciones

✈ Privatization of TAP, Portugal's state airline, set for the first half of 2025. Meetings held in Lisbon with Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, and IAG, owner of Iberia and British Airways. The Portuguese Prime Minister is finalizing interviews with potential candidates and aims for a complete sale, despite opposition calling for a partial privatization. Sale conditions to be established by December this year, focusing on Lisbon's future as a hub.

✈ Ryanair to reduce its presence in Germany by summer 2025 due to taxes and airport charges, impacting flights across many locations. The airline will exit Dortmund, Dresden, and Leipzig, with operations primarily serving Mediterranean tourist destinations, especially Spain. Operations will be cut by 60% in Hamburg and 20% in Berlin, favoring competitor EasyJet in Berlin. Ryanair will cease to operate 22 routes serviced this summer and overall flights in Germany will decrease by 12%.

🛫 Air France flight AF662 from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Dubai encountered missiles overhead on October 1, in the afternoon around 17 UTC. The Boeing 777 300, registration F-GSQU, was flying north to south into the Persian Gulf. Following this, flight AF218 to Mumbai returned to Paris, and flight AF257 from Singapore to Paris landed in Delhi for refueling due to a route change necessitated by the situation. French media report a lack of direction from air traffic control, while U.S. media indicate a forewarned missile launch, corroborated by Israeli alerts. An investigation has been initiated in France regarding the risk exposure of the flight.

🚀 Jet2's Boeing 737 en route to Tenerife Sur from Stansted Airport faced a tense situation when dealing with a "highly disruptive" passenger. The crew had to shorten the route for a rapid landing and aborted the approach twice due to wind shear, diverting to Gran Canaria Airport, where the plane landed without further incidents. Upon arrival, police authorities awaited to evacuate the disruptive individual.

✈ Air France's smallest airline aims to cut costs by €450 million annually to restore profitability. Measures include enhancing productivity, reducing expenses, simplifying organization, postponing non-urgent investments, and exploring new revenue streams. Specific strategies comprise outsourcing, suspending non-core activities, introducing onboard products, expanding paid catering, considering maintenance outsourcing, operating fewer flights, and better aligning intercontinental and European flights. Productivity is expected to improve by at least 5% next year through automation, mechanization, and decreased absenteeism. No details on layoffs were provided.

🛫 Spirit Airlines' stock plunged on Friday due to bankruptcy rumors, while American Airlines' shares rose by 6% sharing many routes with Spirit. Spirit is negotiating an orderly payment suspension with creditors. US competition authorities blocked Spirit's merger with JetBlue, leading to a crisis at Spirit and a $192 million loss in the last fiscal year. Questions arise about the viability of low-cost carriers as Spirit operates 198 aircraft, including 54 Airbus A321s and 136 A320s.

✈️ Cebu Pacific, a low-cost airline from the Philippines, signed a deal for 70 Airbus A321 aircraft, with an option to purchase another 70. The contract was sealed in Manila by Cebu CEO Mike Szucs and Airbus's regional sales director Benoit de Saint Exupery. Cebu currently operates a fleet that includes 37 Airbus A320s, 19 A321s (13 of which are the neo version and the rest A321-200), and 9 A330-900s, in addition to 14 ATR 72s for shorter routes. The airline has previously operated the B757 but no longer has any Boeing aircraft. Airbus has been expanding its presence in the Far East, a region once dominated by Boeing.

🚀 Renfe acquires significant stake in Longitude, owner of Italian rail operator Arenaways, to manage regional lines in Italy from 2025, competing with Trenitalia. Begins in Piedmont region, with two lines: Cuneo-Saluzzo-Savigliano (28 daily services starting January 2025; 5,840 yearly trains; 160,819 km annually) and Ceva-Ormea (10 daily trains; 2,320 yearly; 81,200 km per train). Expands Renfe's presence beyond France and Czech Republic. Arenaways certified to operate in Italy until 2029, facilitating Renfe's compliance with regulations.

📍 Iberia, during Q2 2024, became Europe's most profitable airline with an operating margin of 15.3%, outperforming the air sector average of 8%. It surpassed major European carriers like Turkish Airlines and KLM, and also low-cost airlines such as Ryanair, Easyjet, and Vueling. Key to its success was the 20% increase in seat availability to South America, totaling 5.4 million seats for 2024. Cost controls included fleet modernization with new A350s replacing A340s. Iberia, an IAG company, recorded revenues of €3.49 billion and an operating profit of €362 million in the first half of 2024. ????

🛩 Boeing's labor dispute worsens as Brian Bryant, union president, reports the company removed healthcare coverage for 33,000 striking employees. In the U.S., without public healthcare, this benefit—crucial for families—is usually company-paid. The union deems Boeing's decision a serious mistake, suggesting it will cost the company more in the long term. It's unclear whether HR or the new CEO Kelly Ortberg is making these decisions. Previously, Boeing's 30% multi-year wage increase offer was rejected by the staff.