The Polish airlines group (PGL), the owner of LOT Polish Airlines, is bidding to buy out Condor Airlines, the largest vacation airline in Germany.
During the Civic Platform (PO) government, the Polish national carrier was on the brink of bankruptcy. Today, it is competing with the largest players on the global market.
Condor Airlines, thanks to its annual passenger check-in of almost 7 million clients and flights to 80 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, is one of the main charter airlines in the world.
Currently, there are two other competitors wanting to purchase the former Thomas Cook subsidiary: the American financial investor Apollo and British investment company Greybull.
Next week, binding offers will be submitted after which the bidders will be subjected to detailed analysis. The potential purchase of the German airline would allow the LOT group to advance into a position amongst the largest carriers in Europe and increase the competitiveness of the company.
Just a few years ago, under PO governance, LOT was completely unprofitable and several foreign carriers were eyeing buying out the Polish airline. Many experts pointed to German Lufthansa as the most likely buyer.
In the end, LOT was not taken over and after a change of government to Law and Justice (PiS) in 2015, the Polish carrier began to find its footing.
LOT has currently expanded its fleet, opening new flight destinations, breaking passenger transport records, and is ending every year with huge profits.
Given the airline’s recent successes, LOT’s potential purchase of Condor Airlines would be a huge surprise, given that it would take place in Germany’s national carrier Lufthansa’s own backyard.
Interestingly, just before the bankruptcy of the British travel agency Thomas Cook, it was Lufthansa that was applying for the purchase of Condor, offering exotic routes and valuable slots in the most popular airports.
