avianca, GOL parent Abra Group eyes Chile’s SKY acquisition
The transaction is pending regulatory approval.
Abra Group, the parent company of avianca and GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes (GOL), and a strategic investor in Wamos Air, has announced that it reached an agreement with SKY Airline to integrate the Chilean low-cost carrier into the group.
On November 10, Abra Group announced that it had reached an agreement-in-principle with SKY Airline to merge the Chilean airline into the group. However, the transaction is subject to “regulatory approval, completion of definitive documentation, and other closing conditions.”
Under the agreement, much like avianca, GOL, and Wamos Air, SKY Airline would retain its brand and employees, with the Chilean carrier continuing to engage with consumers, suppliers, and personnel independently. Abra Group added that its airlines and SKY Airline “will maintain their internal and external processes, sales channels and customer service, just as they operate today.”
Adrian Neuhauser, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Abra Group, said that the Chilean low-cost carrier will help the group to strengthen its mission to provide more accessible air travel across Latin America, also bolstering the region’s air market.
“Once the preliminary agreement submitted today to the respective competition authorities is approved, SKY will become part of a group that currently operates a combined fleet of more than 300 aircraft and connects over 140 destinations across more than 25 countries,” Holger Paulmann, the President of SKY Airline, remarked, adding that this will result in more opportunities for passengers to travel.
If the transaction closes, Abra Group will consolidate the ownership of the Chilean airline, with the latter’s majority shareholders becoming the minority shareholders of the group. Paulmann will retain his role as the Chairman of SKY Airline’s board.
When avianca and GOL announced that they would be creating Abra Group in May 2022, the two said that due to the recent investments made by the Colombian airline, the group would have convertible debt that represented a minority stake in SKY Airline.
In October 2023, Abra Group and Aerolíneas Argentinas, which should be privatized, at least according to the goals outlined by Javier Milei, the President of Argentina, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The MoU’s goal was to “strengthen collaboration and explore opportunities between the two organizations, specifically in the commercial, operations, and technology areas,” with Abra Group emphasizing that the agreement did not suggest “change in the shareholding structures of the group of the mentioned companies.”
Aerolíneas Argentinas lists avianca and GOL as its codeshare partners.
Abra Group also had a non-binding MoU with Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (Azul), yet on September 25, it announced that it was terminating discussions with the Brazilian airline “with respect to the possible business combination that was being negotiated” between the group and Azul.
If the transaction between Abra Group and SKY Airline gains regulatory approval, the former’s air operator’s certificates (AOCs) would span Brazil (GOL), Chile (SKY Airline), Colombia (avianca and its subsidiaries), Costa Rica (avianca Costa Rica), Ecuador (avianca Ecuador), El Salvador (avianca Ecuador), and Guatemala (avianca Guatemala/Aviateca), as well as Spain, where Wamos Air is based.
Abra Group also established NG Servicios Aéreos, a wet lease operator, in Chile in October. The latter still has not received its AOC from the Chilean authorities, and is due to take delivery of an ex-GOL Boeing 737-800, to be registered as CC-DNU.
Planespotters.net records showed that SKY Airline has a fleet of 36 Airbus aircraft, split between 29 A320neo and seven A321neos.
In comparison, LATAM Airlines brands that span Latin America include subsidiaries in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru.
Rytis Beresnevicius
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