Volotea and Abra Group End Alliance Following IAG’s Withdrawal Aviacionline
After learning today that IAG (parent company of Iberia and British Airways) decided to abandon its plans to acquire Air Europa due to constant obstacles from the European Commission, Volotea and the Abra Group (holding company of Avianca and GOL) ended the alliance they had announced just over a month ago.
This is because that alliance was one of the remedy takers that IAG had proposed to take over the slots left by the European holding company in the negotiations to obtain authorization from the European Commission to acquire Air Europa. Without it, the Volotea-Abra alliance has no reason to exist.
Nevertheless, according to the Spanish newspaper El Economista, “both Abra and Volotea will continue to explore future commercial opportunities,” which somewhat aligns with what Adrián Neuhauser, CEO of Abra, had said at the time: that if the European Commission rejected IAG, the alliance would be maintained on a smaller scale. Thus, Volotea indicated that they will continue with their market development strategy, albeit at a more organic pace.
The alliance was to involve the establishment of a Volotea base in Madrid with 20 aircraft to support the transatlantic flights of Avianca, which currently has no ties with any airline in Spain. As part of Star Alliance, its main connections in Europe are through Lufthansa, Turkish, and TAP Air Portugal, to whose hubs the Colombian airline does not operate.
This would also have better fit with Abra’s recent acquisition: the Spanish charter airline Wamos Air, which could also have regularly operated to Latin American destinations.
Volotea News
Volotea closed the last fiscal year with revenues of 694 million euros, 24.6% more than the previous year. For 2024, revenues are expected to exceed 800 million euros, making it the most profitable year in the company’s history.
The company plans to transport around 12 million passengers this year and offer more than 450 routes in 18 European countries. Its fleet consists of twenty Airbus A319 and twenty-four Airbus A320.
Volotea stands out for operating in secondary cities to major urban centers, as well as establishing bases in small and medium-sized cities in Europe. According to the Cirium Platform, Spain is the third most important market for the low-cost carrier, covering an 18% market share of seat capacity and frequencies. Its main bases in Spain are Asturias and Bilbao.
