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Iberia is intended to resolve before the end of the year the purchase of Air Europa. P ara good or for evil . The group is still interested in the acquisition of its historic competitor, but does not rule out the operation to break because of disagreements regarding the purchase price or form of payment.

When they announced the macrooperación, in November last year, IAG pledged that Iberia paid to pay billion for Air Europa. A valuation that has been on wet paper after the outbreak of the pandemic of the coronavirus, which has limited the maximum air travel and has threatened the viability of the company founded by Juan José Hidalgo.

it Is for this reason that Iberia and Air Europa has spent weeks negotiating a new price and another form of payment. The agreement is close, but has not yet taken place. “We have to agree on many things and we are waiting to reach a meeting point,” explained the president of Iberia, Luis Gallego, in a conference call with media produced this on Friday, after the presentation of the results of IAG.

galicia has defended the “strategic value” of the operation to reinforce the hub of Madrid and the actractivo tourism of Spain, to ensure that it will be more beneficial for the sector that Air Europa is integrated into IAG.

The steering, which will replace in September, Willie Walsh as ceo of the group , has also analyzed the increase of the share capital of 2,750 million euros, which will launch IAG. An operation that, according to Gallego, “will not affect the participation of Qatar Airways”, which will keep the 25% of the company.

The majority shareholder of IAG has already announced that it will support the enlargement, which has been the group’s answer to the lack of direct support by the Spanish Government. Other airlines have received bailouts, public, which, according to Gallego, will affect competition within the airline industry.

Settings after the ERTE

“there Will be stronger competition after the coronavirus. In our case, we’re going to argue that all aid does not distort the market. We do not agree that companies that already had poor outcomes before the coronavirus to benefit from this situation”, explained the president of Iberia, which has been ruled by the time that the airline go to go to the rescue fund of 10,000 million managed by the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI).

Gallego has been referred to in the same way, the quarantine of 14 days imposed by the United Kingdom to the travelers coming from Spain, a limitation that “is concerned” to the group because it will be reflected in the demand. “The measure does not make much sense when communities such as the Balearic islands and the Canary islands have an epidemiological situation more favorable than in the United Kingdom,” explained the manager.

The company estimates they go through a crisis long and not regain the levels reached prior to the pandemic until late 2023 or early 2024. This circumstance will force airlines such as Iberia and Vueling to make adjustments in your template. “The STRONG have been extended until the end of September and we anticipate that to be extended to the end of the year. When they finish we’ll sit down with the workers,” said Gallego.

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