Lufthansa’s finance chief cautioned against a quick turnaround of Italy’s national airline ITA Airways after its purchase, while expressing confidence the German carrier has the financial muscle to forge an overdue industry consolidation. Lufthansa has the capacity to acquire other airlines even as it enacts a turnaround at loss-making ITA, though it would only do so if it adds value for the group, Remco Steenbergen said in an interview in London. Lufthansa is close to a deal to acquire a minority stake in ITA as soon as next week, giving it better access to one of Europe’s biggest travel markets. “When there are opportunities in Europe for other airlines, we will carefully look whether it makes sense to add them to the portfolio or not,” Steenbergen said. Lufthansa is in expansion mode as the global travel sector recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. The carrier is set to take over ITA in two steps, starting out with a stake of about 40% before assuming full ownership. Such a move will help mitigate the risk of absorbing the perennially unprofitable asset that’s soaked up billions in Italian state support over the years. “All parties involved know it takes a little time,” Steenbergen said of the task of turning ITA into a profitable company. “But together we have outlined a clear path to reach this goal.” While many smaller national carriers have been absorbed by the three large regional airline groups — Lufthansa; Air France-KLM and IAG SA — there are still some assets up for grabs. Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa has said that Lufthansa communicated interest in national flag-carrier TAP SA, and SAS AB in Stockholm may be seeking a buyer once it exits insolvency proceedings.<br/>
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Sweden's SAS said on Monday the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has approved equity solicitation procedures which will allow the airline to secure available terms and conditions for new equity capital. The final deadline for potential investors to bid will take place in approximately 13 weeks, the company said. "We will conduct a competitive and broad solicitation process to secure equity capital that will help drive our airline forward and facilitate our emergence from the Chapter 11 process," Anko van der Werff, president and CEO of SAS said. Last month, the Scandinavian airline had initiated steps to raise equity and bids as part of its ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States. The airline earlier said the final sum would depend on the bidding process and generation of additional liquidity by the airline. It now plans to complete its court-supervised process in the latter part of the second half of 2023.<br/>
EgyptAir has signed a long-term agreement with the travel technology specialist Amadeus to boost flight reservation systems, according to an emailed release sent on May 15th. As per the deal, the Egyptian airline will benefit from Amadeus’ flexible solutions, including its new e-commerce platform. It will also provide EgyptAir with Amadeus Revenue Management solution, which forecasts the accuracy of reservations by analyzing customers’ behaviors, competitive prices, and production capacities. In addition, the airline will count on Amadeus Altéa Booking Intelligence solution to prevent fraud.<br/>
Asiana Airlines, Korea's second-biggest carrier by sales, said Monday its net losses widened in Q1 from a year earlier as a weak won drove up operating costs. Net losses deepened to 54.36b won ($40.6m) in the three months ending in March from 46.55b won during the same period of last year, the company said. "The won's weakness against the dollar pushed up jet fuel, maintenance and airport-related costs, weighing on the quarterly bottom line," the statement said. The dollar rose to an average of 1,275.58 won in Q1 from 1,204.95 won a year earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea. Operating profit rose 16% to 166.82b won in the March quarter from 143.52b won a year ago. Sales jumped 40% to 1.75t won from 1.25t won during the cited period. <br/>
Singapore Airlines has brought its Airbus A380s back to Melbourne Airport, replacing the Boeing 777s that had been flying the Singapore-Melbourne service. Flight SQ237 from Singapore touched down at 9:30 this morning on the A380-800 9V-SKW, having left Changi at 12:45am local time last night. It is the first SIA A380 to arrive in Melbourne since January of 2020. Lorie Argus, CEO of Melbourne Airport, said the return of Singapore Airlines’ A380s is a “vote of confidence” in Victoria. “This is the flagship of Singapore Airlines’ fleet, and until recently this aircraft was being used for flights to Frankfurt and New York, so having that capacity diverted to Melbourne is quite a coup,” she said. “The A380 is a passenger favourite and with space for 471 travellers it has more than 200 extra seats than the Boeing 777 it is replacing on this service. This extra capacity is a huge win for consumers and with one-stop connections to an impressive range of destinations in south-east Asia, India and Europe, we’re confident these A380 flights from Melbourne will prove a popular option. “Singapore Airlines was one of the few carriers that stuck with Melbourne through the pandemic, and we are pleased to see them reaffirming their commitment to Victoria again today.”<br/>