Air France-KLM continues its euro-wide shopping spree‚ making moves that raise eye-brows about fair competition in aviation. The company (which already runs Dutch carrier KLM) bought a piece of SAS last summer and now wants to grab portugals TAP airline during its sell-off
The french-dutch carrier‚ where Emmanuel Macronʼs government holds 28% stake and dutch state owns 9‚9%‚ shows clear signs of becoming a state-backed super-carrier: its trying to build an old-school monopoly across europe
Theres a big problem with this setup - while EU has strict rules about state aid and monopolies they dont seem to apply here. The company gets special treatment: cheaper funding and government backing that other airlines cant match
The airlines financial results tell an interesting story - its share price dropped 82% in past 5 years while competitors like IAG went up 34% (but that doesnt stop government from putting more cash in)
Here are the markets where Air France-KLM already has influence or wants to get it:
- Scandinavia through SAS deal
- Netherlands via KLM ownership
- Portugal with TAP plans
- Failed attempt at italys ITA
- Possible future targets in Greece Malta and Poland
The whole situation looks like a throw-back to pre-privatization times when state-owned carriers ruled the skies‚ made deals between themselves and kept prices high - exactly what EU was supposed to prevent from happening again