ISTANBUL Reuters - Lufthansa's chief executive Carsten Spohr said on Sunday it was too soon to discuss the German airline group's potential interest in taking over Portugal's TAP as the Portuguese government is still debating the privatization process.
Portugal wants to keep a strategic interest in the state-owned airline TAP and won't offer all of its capital in the upcoming privatization, the country's finance secretary, Joao Nuno Mendes, said on Friday.
There's still discussion in Portugal how that privatization will take place and it's not supposed to be 100% privatization, he said at the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Istanbul.
At least three major global airlines, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and British Airways-owner IAG, have shown interest.
Lufthansa said last month that it was taking a 41% stake in Italian carrier ITA Airways in the latest major consolidation in the airline industry in Europe.
Spohr said the deal was contingent on the European Commission's approval, but said that once it was signed off, ITA Airways would be incorporated into Lufthansa's worldwide sales contracts to help it grow its revenue.
He said a number of planes were still grounded due to supply chain issues - at least 10 across the group - and that initial deliveries of the Boeing 777 X were expected in early 2025.
Boeing said it's delivery will be in late 24 or early 25 - which means it's early '25.