Why European airline M&A needs a crisis
Consolidation has been credited with transforming the profitability of the US airline industry. Some hope the trick can be repeated in Europe’s scrappy low-cost sector. Europe’s budget operators can be split into two camps. Ryanair and EasyJet sit in one of them. Neither carrier has much to gain from risky takeover activity. In the other camp is a long tail of diminutive rivals with disparate strategies. This is where consolidation could be useful. The prize is an established third place after the two giants. Lufthansa CE Carsten Spohr told analysts last week he thought Ryanair and EasyJet had “reached critical size,” while Eurowings and its peers lacked the scale needed to compete properly. With its strong balance sheet, Lufthansa is therefore ready for the expected “wave of consolidation”. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/imagelibrary/news/hot-topics/2016-03-29/general/why-european-airline-m-a-needs-a-crisis
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Why European airline M&A needs a crisis
Consolidation has been credited with transforming the profitability of the US airline industry. Some hope the trick can be repeated in Europe’s scrappy low-cost sector. Europe’s budget operators can be split into two camps. Ryanair and EasyJet sit in one of them. Neither carrier has much to gain from risky takeover activity. In the other camp is a long tail of diminutive rivals with disparate strategies. This is where consolidation could be useful. The prize is an established third place after the two giants. Lufthansa CE Carsten Spohr told analysts last week he thought Ryanair and EasyJet had “reached critical size,” while Eurowings and its peers lacked the scale needed to compete properly. With its strong balance sheet, Lufthansa is therefore ready for the expected “wave of consolidation”. <br/>
