IAG drops planned Air Europa acquisition

Saturday, 02 Aug, 2024 0

British Airways parent International Airlines Group (IAG) has finally pulled the plug on its bid to acquire Air Europa.

IAG said it wasn’t likely to be approved in the current ‘regulatory environment.’

Air Europa is Spain’s second largest airline.

The European Commission had already voiced concerns about the airline acquisition as IAG also owns Iberia.

It would have given IAG a dominant position on several routes, especially from Madrid.

IAG would have had a large market share on flight between Spain and Latin America.

Iberia loaned Air Europa funds to help it survive the pandemic downturn.

It then converted these funds to a 20% stake.

IAG then agreed to purchase the remaining 80%.

The European competition regulator opened an investigation and made it clear there were serious competition issues, that would likely mean giving up some routes and slots.

IAG must now pay a €50 million ‘kill fee’ to Air Europa as compensation, but says it will retain its existing 20% shareholding.

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

The superpower in bed banks for 30 years We are an award-winning and trusted accommodation wholesaler since 1991. We are...

STA was established to support the growth of the travel and tourism sector by serving the needs of tourism companies...

Princess Hotels & Resorts is a hotel chain specialising in holiday and urban hotels located in first class tourist destinations,...

From the beginning, ATI’s philosophy has been “innovation, not duplication.“ Developing specialized technology solutions to connect over 30,000 accommodation, attracti...

Destination British Columbia (Destination BC) is a Provincially funded, industry-led Crown corporation that supports a strong and competitive future for BC’s...

In 2019, Buffalo Tours and Olympus Tours joined the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) family and formed Discova. With the...

The Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna – POT) is one of several dozen national tourism organisations operating in the...

Palladium Hotel Group is a renowned Spanish hotel chain that first emerged towards the end of the 1960s. Currently present...

Intrepid Travel is a world leader in sustainable experience-rich travel that has been taking travellers to discover the world’s most amazing places...

Located in the Mediterranean and connecting Asia and European continents that are separated by the famous Bosphorus, Türkiye is a...

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels...

Hilton is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 22 world-class brands comprising nearly 7,300 properties and more than 1.1 million rooms, in...