Aerolineas Argentinas is to merge with Austral Lineas Aereas by 1 October, the final move in preparing the pair's parent company Interinvest for sale. The merged airline will operate under Aerolineas' code, with a new livery to be unveiled in December.
Following a review conducted by international consultancy Arthur Andersen, the new entity's workforce is to be cut to 6,500, with Austral's McDonnell Douglas DC-9s to be phased out in favour of Boeing 737-200s.
Interinvest will control almost 90% of the new carrier, while Aerolineas has just completed a $350 million recapitalisation involving the sale of shares in Sita subsidiary Equant and in Buenos Aires Catering, a $100 million seven-year bond placement and a fresh equity injection. The moves clear the way for the sale of Spanish state holding company Sepi's 80% stake in Interinvest, although the timing remains unclear.
"We're being sensitive to market conditions," Aerolineas chief operating officer David Cush tells Flight International. "We're in no hurry to sell at an inappropriate time."
With 20% of Interinvest held by American Airlines and Iberia, Aerolineas is widely regarded as a potential oneworld alliance member and new recruit LanChile is thought to be interested in bidding. Aerolineas' priority is to implement an alliance with American under the new Argentina-US bilateral.
Source: Flight International
