Spanish carrier Air Europa is talking to other European carriers about a potential tie-up, according to the chief executive of suitor IAG.
Speaking during IAG’s full-year earnings briefing today, Luis Gallego said that while he still considered an IAG-Air Europa partnership “the best option for the Madrid hub”, its acquisition target was “considering other alternatives from other European carriers”.
“I think it’s a mistake,” he says of that decision, while declining to name the other carriers involved.
IAG had proposed to acquire the whole of Air Europa’s share capital from parent Globalia, but the deal collapsed last year. Gallego said at the time that the deal could be revived, but only under completely new terms.
