Polish carrier LOT acquires German airline Condor

Ralf Teckentrup, chief of Condor airlines, and Rafal Milczarski, CEO of LOT Polish Airlines, pose with a model airplane after a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany - Reuters

BERLIN, REUTERS: Polish carrier LOT is acquiring Thomas Cook’s German airline Condor, creating a leading aviation group in Europe carrying more than 20 million passengers a year, the companies said on Friday.

Condor operates a fleet of more than 50 aircraft while LOT has a fleet of 80 aircraft.

LOT Chief Executive Rafal Milczarski said he sees a possible order of around 30 planes from Boeing and Airbus.

Unlike Thomas Cook – the holiday company that collapsed in September – Condor received a lifeline from Germany in the form of a EUR 380 million ($422 million) bridging loan, allowing it to be rescued.

Earlier on Friday Reuters had cited three sources saying LOT was buying Condor.

In a statement, Condor and LOT, which is owned by PGL, said they would pay back the loan from Germany in its entirety. They expect the takeover to be completed by April once antitrust approvals have been secured.

“The purchase secures the future of Condor and thus offers its employees, customers, and partners stability and a great perspective,” said PGL Management Board Chairman Rafal Milczarski.

The companies said Condor, which competes with Lufthansa and TUI fly, would continue to operate under its current management.

As it seeks to cut costs, Condor last week struck a deal with its flight attendants on plans to cut 150 of its 2,400 cabin jobs. That followed an earlier deal to cut 170 jobs in overhead operations. Lazard and Pekao were the investment banks working for PGL while Rothschild & Co. acted for Condor.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, whose cabinet is nationalist, told a news conference on Friday: “Up until now foreign companies have been taking over Polish precious assets, now it is the other way round!”