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Thomas Cook, TUI and Lufthansa discuss German merger

Thomas Cook, TUI and Lufthansa discuss German merger Holiday giant TUI Travel has confirmed that it is in talks with Thomas Cook Group PLC and the Lufthansa airline about a possible merger in Germany.

This would bring together three charter and discount airlines in the country: TUIfly, Lufthansa affiliate Germanwings and Thomas Cook's Condor Airlines.
TUI Travel only formed during September 2007 following a merger between TUI AG and UK-based First Choice Travel.

The company said in a statement yesterday that "it is in early discussions with Lufthansa and Thomas Cook in relation to a potential merger of Condor, Germanwings and TUIfly Germany".

"However, no commercial terms have been agreed. There is no certainty that any transaction will result and a further announcement will be made if and when appropriate," added the statement.

Jessica Rouleau, TUI spokeswomen, also stressed that any merger would not affect the airlines' existing services.

Claudia Lange, spokeswoman for Lufthansa, also confirmed to Bloomberg that "there are discussions about a merger between Germanwings, TUIfly and Condor. We will comment further, if there's a result or progress".

This marks another step towards consolidation in the German aviation market, as TUIfly and Germanwings were already engaged in merger talks.

Equally, all three groups are also in talks with low-cost carrier Air Berlin which recently pulled out of a deal to buy Condor.

However, Air Berlin poured cold water on the prospect of the merger being approved in Germany by anti-trust authorities.

Although its chief executive, Joachim Hunold, told Bloomberg that the deal may actually work positively to open up the German market.


Airline News posted on 29 August 2008

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