by Joanna Plucinska and Tim Hepher
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said on Sunday any talk of the German airline group’s interest in taking over TAP was premature, saying Lisbon is still considering privatizing the Portuguese carrier.
Portugal wants to keep a strategic stake in the public airline TAP and will not sell all of its capital during the upcoming privatization, Portuguese State Secretary for Finance Joao Nuno Mendes said on Friday.
“There are still discussions in Portugal about how the privatization will take place and it is not supposed to be 100%,” Carsten Spohr told reporters at the annual meeting of the International Transport Association. airline (Iata) in Istanbul.
At least three major airlines, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and IAG, the owner of British Airways among others, have expressed interest in TAP.
Lufthansa announced last month its intention to take a 41% stake in the Italian carrier ITA Airways, the latest major consolidation operation to date in the sector in Europe.
Concerning ITA Airways, Carsten Spohr underlined that the European Commission still had to decide on this operation, but that once the green light was obtained, the Italian company would be integrated into the global sales contracts of the Lufthansa group in order to help it increase his income.
He also noted that at least 10 of the group’s planes were still grounded due to supply chain issues and that the first deliveries of the Boeing 777X were expected in early 2025.
(Report Joanna Plucinska and Tim Hepher; French version Claude Chendjou)
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