Air Europa could almost be the ‘always a bridesmaid, never a bride’ of airlines as the third of Europe’s big airline groups has dropped out of the bidding to buy the Spain-based airline. That leaves only Turkish Airlines as a potential partner.
International Airways Group, parent of British Air, Iberia and Vueling, had a deal to buy the airline from Globalia, a family-owned Spanish company before the pandemic for €1 billion; that fell through during the pandemic, and a later €500 million deal fell through in 2024 on regulator issues, although IAG still owns 20% of the company.
Air France/KLM and Lufthansa then both got into the bidding, but neither got to an actual deal; Air France/KLM dropped out of the bidding a bit over a week ago, and Lufthansa followed this week, saying that negotiations were difficult and that IAG’s 20% stake would make any deal complex.
That leaves only Turkish Airlines, which announced its interest in late June, in the bidding. Air Europa, which flies within Spain and connects Madrid with large Spanish cities in Europe and Latin America, is on the block to raise cash to repay a government loan.
