Lauda pips IAG to buy former Air Berlin carrier Niki
Ian Taylor
ian.taylor@travelweekly.co.uk
British Airways’ parent IAG failed in its bid to buy former Air Berlin subsidiary Niki, losing out to the Austrian airline’s founder Niki Lauda last week.
Former Formula 1 champion Lauda plans to relaunch Niki under a new name in March, in partnership with Thomas Cook Airlines in Germany. Details of the winning offer
were not disclosed, but Niki’s administrators said Lauda’s bid topped IAG’s offer of €36.5 million for the Austrian carrier. Air Berlin filed for insolvency
last August after shareholder Etihad withdrew support, and the carrier ceased flying at the end of October. Lufthansa initially expected to take over Niki as part of a wholesale acquisition of Air Berlin, but the German group pulled out over competition concerns. IAG announced plans to acquire Niki in December. It aimed to
€36.5m
IAG’s failed bid to buy Niki, which it aimed to merge with Vueling
take 15 of Niki’s 21 Airbus A320 aircraft and 740 of the 1,000 employees and merge them with group low-cost carrier Vueling. However, the IAG bid foundered
after the insolvency process switched from Berlin to Vienna in January following a legal challenge. Lauda made the winning offer in the name of his Austrian company Laudamotion and announced plans for a partnership with Thomas Cook Airlines and its German carrier Condor, saying: “I need an operational partner for crew planning and sales.” Thomas Cook Airlines confirmed it is in talks with Lauda on “operational support services”.
LAUDA: Plans to sign partnership with Thomas Cook Airlines
Niki had a large base at Palma
airport and was a significant operator to Majorca from German-speaking markets after taking over Air Berlin’s routes to Palma last summer. Thomas Cook is looking to
replace capacity it previously took with Air Berlin.
Lauda established Laudamotion
as a private jet operator in 2016. He founded Niki in 2003 and sold the carrier to Air Berlin in 2011. However, last week’s deal did not include the Niki brand. EasyJet took over Air Berlin’s
operations at Berlin Tegel in December and began operating from the airport on January 5.
PEAKS WATCH Latest GfK bookings data
SUMMER 2018
Week to January 20 % change in passengers booked on comparable week 2017
7%
Change in average selling price (ASP)
Family bookings Turkey Greece Spain
£15 13%
122% 12% 5%
Canaries 2%
Season to date % change in passengers booked year on year
4% WINTER 2017-18
Week to January 20 % change in passengers booked on comparable week 2017
1%
Egypt Turkey Balearics
58% 70% 23%
Threat of low-cost fares war dents US airlines’ share prices
Fears of an airline price war in the US fuelled a sharp fall in the share values of big US carriers last week. The stock market sell-off
followed remarks by United Continental president Scott Kirby, who told analysts: “Half our revenue comes from customers that are mostly shopping on price. We cannot let low-cost carriers have price advantages in our hubs. The best way to compete with a low- cost carrier is matching [its] prices.”
UNITED AIRLINES: 10% share drop
He added: “No one chooses to fly on an ultra-low-cost carrier if they can get the same price on United.” The remarks saw United’s
share price fall by more than 10% despite the airline reporting a pre-tax profit of $600 million for the three months to December and full-year pre-tax earnings of $3 billion. Shares in American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines also fell. United revealed plans to increase capacity by up to 6% this year and
similar amounts in 2019 and 2020. ● In Europe, easyJet reported “strong trading” in the final three
months of 2017, with an 8% increase in passengers, 5.5% rise in capacity and 14% increase in revenue year on year. The carrier hailed “a positive
trading environment”, saying it benefited “in particular as a result of the bankruptcies of Monarch, Air Berlin and Alitalia as well as the impact from Ryanair’s flight cancellations”. The airline reported a 20% increase in quarterly ancillary revenue to £226 million.
1 February 2018
travelweekly.co.uk 79
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