“I would say that this is neither the starting point nor the strategic plan we have had the opportunity to see,” TAP chairman Carlos Oliveira told journalists on the sidelines of the signing of the airline's partial sale agreement in Lisbon.

Carlos Oliveira insisted that the path ahead would be one of growth, noting that anyone investing as much as Lufthansa has invested in TAP “is doing so to make it grow”.

On 14 October, the Government selected Lufthansa for the partial privatisation of TAP, with a proposal of €1.201 billion for up to 49.9% of the company's capital, with the operation expected to be completed by early 2028.

The decision was taken by the Council of Ministers following an assessment of the improved final binding proposals submitted by Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, the two groups that reached the decisive stage of the Portuguese airline's privatisation.

The main factor in the selection was Lufthansa's financial offer, which was €163 million higher than Air France-KLM's. The associated investments, particularly in the fleet, and the proposed governance model were also assessed.

Lufthansa's proposal includes a reference price of €1.025 billion for 44.9% of TAP, plus €58 million in time-related adjustments concerning the ticketing fee, SPdH (formerly Groundforce, the ground-handling company) and Cateringpor (in-flight catering services), as well as €118 million relating to the 5% reserved for employees, bringing the potential proceeds to €1.201 billion.

Set The Portugal News as your preferred source for news on Google

GoogleAdd as a preferred source on Google