International Airlines Group (IAG), formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, will look at Air Portugal (TAP) when the Portuguese government starts the formal sale process, its chief executive said on October 7. The troubled Portuguese state carrier's Brazilian routes are of particular interest to IAG.
"What we are waiting for is a formal process to start with the Portuguese government, and then once that happens we will certainly be taking a look at it," Willie Walsh told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of an economic forum in Dublin.
"The latest report I have seen is that it (the formal sales process) is likely to be next year."
Air Portugal and several other state companies are slated for privatisation as part of indebted Portugal's EU-IMF bailout.
Ireland's government is also selling off state assets as part of its rescue package and IAG has been touted as a possible bidder for Dublin's 25 percent stake in Aer Lingus. Walsh, who resigned as Aer Lingus CEO in late 2004 amid disagreements over efforts to privatise the then state-owned carrier, said uncertainty over Aer Lingus's pension deficit was putting off all potential bidders.
The trustees of Aer Lingus' pension scheme, which has a 400 million euros ($539.7 million) deficit, will decide in coming months whether to cut benefits, which could raise the risk of industrial action.
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