HIGH-SPEED rail services between Spain's largest two cities and France have been snapped up by half a million passengers in less than nine months, reveals the transport board.
Air Europa will be like a 'sister' says Iberia Chief Exec
05/12/2019
Iberia Chief Executive Luis Gallego said on Wednesday that Air Europa, once approved for purchase by the competition regulators, will be like "a sister" to the Spanish airline which is part of the IAG group together with British Airways, Vueling, Aer Lingus and Level.
In a meeting arranged by CEOE (Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations) and Cepyme (Confederation of Small and Medium-Size Enterprises) Gallego said that Air Europa will depend organically on Iberia itself and not on the group, because he believes that will allow them to be "more efficient and better develop the Madrid hub".
In his opinion, having a strong airline in Spain, associated with such an important hub as Madrid, "is very good for the Spanish economy and for job creation."
"The best way to protect employment is to have strong companies," he insisted. Companies that are not strong disappear and the aim of the acquisition of Air Europa by the Anglo-Spanish group is "to develop a more efficient company, improve tourism and continue supporting Spain and its air connections," continued Gallego.
Although both airlines do not currently fit into terminal T4, where Iberia operates from, Gallego expects that operations will eventually be concentrated in just one terminal, which, in addition, would be "very good for Madrid airport because it’s going to give it growth capacity in the other terminals."
In any case, it is something that Aena must decide, Gallego added, according to whom the purchase of Air Europa "will turn Madrid into a first class hub with excellent links to the entire world and not just Latin America."
Likewise, the purchase will be "very good for customers, who will have a better network, better schedules, better prices, better connections and better opportunities" and "will continue to help Spain generate employment and tourism," he said.
The Iberia Chief Executive also affirmed that before beginning the sale and purchase process Air Europa, both parties took advice from lawyers specialised in competition regulation and, although he believes that legal solutions will not be necessary, "logically we have considered that the European Commission may bring action against us".
The purchase of Air Europa "is not affected by Brexit at all" since it does not modify the shareholding structure of IAG, according to Gallego.
As for the environmental movements against the air sector, he has acknowledged that there are other transport alternatives on journeys of up to 1,500km, but the reality is that above this distance "there is no real alternative to the plane".
Photo: Luis Gallego, Chief Executive of Iberia
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Iberia Chief Executive Luis Gallego said on Wednesday that Air Europa, once approved for purchase by the competition regulators, will be like "a sister" to the Spanish airline which is part of the IAG group together with British Airways, Vueling, Aer Lingus and Level.
In a meeting arranged by CEOE (Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations) and Cepyme (Confederation of Small and Medium-Size Enterprises) Gallego said that Air Europa will depend organically on Iberia itself and not on the group, because he believes that will allow them to be "more efficient and better develop the Madrid hub".
In his opinion, having a strong airline in Spain, associated with such an important hub as Madrid, "is very good for the Spanish economy and for job creation."
"The best way to protect employment is to have strong companies," he insisted. Companies that are not strong disappear and the aim of the acquisition of Air Europa by the Anglo-Spanish group is "to develop a more efficient company, improve tourism and continue supporting Spain and its air connections," continued Gallego.
Although both airlines do not currently fit into terminal T4, where Iberia operates from, Gallego expects that operations will eventually be concentrated in just one terminal, which, in addition, would be "very good for Madrid airport because it’s going to give it growth capacity in the other terminals."
In any case, it is something that Aena must decide, Gallego added, according to whom the purchase of Air Europa "will turn Madrid into a first class hub with excellent links to the entire world and not just Latin America."
Likewise, the purchase will be "very good for customers, who will have a better network, better schedules, better prices, better connections and better opportunities" and "will continue to help Spain generate employment and tourism," he said.
The Iberia Chief Executive also affirmed that before beginning the sale and purchase process Air Europa, both parties took advice from lawyers specialised in competition regulation and, although he believes that legal solutions will not be necessary, "logically we have considered that the European Commission may bring action against us".
The purchase of Air Europa "is not affected by Brexit at all" since it does not modify the shareholding structure of IAG, according to Gallego.
As for the environmental movements against the air sector, he has acknowledged that there are other transport alternatives on journeys of up to 1,500km, but the reality is that above this distance "there is no real alternative to the plane".
Photo: Luis Gallego, Chief Executive of Iberia
Related Topics
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