It seems the temptation of another airline is too good to resist, as Lufthansa plans to acquire the rest of Brussels Airlines it does currently not own.
Brussels Airlines Airbus A330 at New York JFK – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
The flag carrier of Belgium up until this point is 45% owned by Lufthansa Group. In a release today, it seems Lufthansa wants the rest of the operation
In a statement, Lufthansa Group states:
The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG approved the exercising of a call option to acquire the remaining 55% of shares in SN Airholding, the parent company of Brussels Airlines, at its meeting today. The approval paves the way for Lufthansa’s full acquisition of Brussels Airlines.
It remains the common objective of Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines to conduct the full acquisition of SN Airholding by Deutsche Lufthansa AG after the final agreement on the modalities of the exercise of the call option with the SN Airholding shareholders by the end of this year, and to conclude the transaction at the beginning of 2017.
As for the future of Brussels Airlines after the takeover? Who knows.
Brussels Airlines has carved a niche providing long haul connectivity between Africa and Europe, and has grown its North American operation since it was formed from the remains of SN Brussels Airlines, Virgin Express and most notability, Sabina.
How the operation will change will be one to watch when Lufthansa takes over will be another matter – and one to watch during 2017.
Hopefully the uniqueness of Brussels Airlines – and what made it different (be it’s slightly playful nature, operating flight on behalf of Tommorowland, Frites in the air) – will preserved, and the airline itself not turned into a Lufthansa feeder operation.
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