Arkia-Israir merger proposal among bids for Israeli leisure carrier

Israeli carrier Arkia has revealed it is bidding to take over leisure operator Israir, one of multiple parties to have declared formal interest in acquiring the carrier. Israir is being auctioned as part of a restructuring of troubled parent company IDB Development. Arkia says it would pursue Israir “by way of a merger” adding that its offer represents a “historic opportunity” to achieve a combination in the Israeli aviation industry. It points out that the air transport sector is in “deep crisis” while Israeli operators have, in addition, had to face increasing competition from foreign carriers as a consequence of ‘open skies’ agreements. Arkia, which is controlled by the Nakash brothers, says there is a “unique one-time opportunity” to merge the airlines into a stronger platform, resulting in a “significant reduction” in management costs, improvements to the aircraft fleet, and “proper utilisation” of the two companies’ resources. Both Arkia and Israir are operators of Airbus A320-family jets, although each also uses regional types.<br/>