TAP Air Portugal has attracted interest from several major European airline groups. These groups include Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, and the International Airlines Group (IAG). While TAP Air Portugal may not have a strong presence in Europe’s domestic market, its significant operations in South America make it an attractive purchase.
TAP Air Portugal’s main focus is South America, particularly Brazil. This focus results in little overlap with existing long-haul networks of most European airlines. During the summer, TAP is set to operate up to 16 daily flights to South America. Most of these flights will depart from its Lisbon or Porto hubs, primarily serving Brazilian destinations.
“Both countries speak the same language due to historic Portuguese colonialism in the region. This link ultimately gives TAP an advantage over its European counterparts.”
Currently, TAP Air Portugal is the largest operator in the Europe-Brazil air sector. It has a significant lead, operating four times more flights than its nearest European competitor, Air France. In August alone, out of roughly 2,900 scheduled flights between Europe and Brazil, TAP Air Portugal will be responsible for 849 flights.
On the broader Europe-South American market, TAP falls behind Iberia, which holds a 16% market share compared to TAP’s 14%.
All three major airline groups have expressed interest in investing in TAP Air Portugal. Their interest follows previous attempts to acquire Air Europa. IAG, which owns airlines like British Airways and Aer Lingus, aims to expand its influence in South America.
“We think that the model that we have at IAG is the right model to develop TAP,” stated Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG.
Similarly, Air France-KLM believes that a partnership with TAP makes more strategic sense, opting to avoid a full merger to prevent antitrust issues.
“The discussions that took place last week were very positive from a political point of view,” Air France-KLM commented.
Lufthansa has displayed interest in TAP, despite its current acquisition of Italy’s ITA Airways. The German airline has not ruled out a potential bid, maintaining its pursuit of European market expansion.
###
