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Air Europa

Coordinates: 39°28′59″N 2°51′10″E / 39.48307290°N 2.85285110°E / 39.48307290; 2.85285110
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Air Europa
IATA ICAO Call sign
UX AEA EUROPA
Founded1986; 38 years ago (1986)
AOC #ES.AOC.004[1]
HubsAdolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programSuma
AllianceSkyTeam
SubsidiariesAir Europa Express
Fleet size43
Destinations44[2]
Parent companyGlobalia
HeadquartersLlucmajor, Mallorca, Spain
Key peopleJuan José Hidalgo, Chairman and CEO
Employees2,949 (5 March 2014)
Websitewww.aireuropa.com

Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain;[3][4][5][6] it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport with focus city operations at Palma de Mallorca Airport and Tenerife North Airport.[2][7][8] Air Europa flies to over 44 destinations in Spain, the rest of Europe, South America, North America, the Caribbean, Morocco and Tunisia.[9][2] Since September 2007, Air Europa has been member of the SkyTeam alliance.

History

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Early years

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Air Europa started in 1986 (registered in Spain as Air España SA and previously known as such) as part of the British ILG-Air Europe Group and 75% owned by Spanish banks.[10] It originally had a similar livery to Air Europe but with Air Europa titles and its aircraft were registered in Spain. It flew holiday charters from Mediterranean resorts and European cities using Boeing 737-300s and Boeing 757s. It was the first Spanish private company to operate national scheduled flights (besides charter flights which used to be its main business).[11]

When parent company ILG ceased trading in 1991 Air Europa continued profitably with a larger fleet of Boeing 737s and 757s. It signed a franchise agreement with Iberia in January 1998, but this has since been dissolved. It is now owned by Globalia Corporación Empresarial S.A.[12]

At the end of the 1990s, Boeing 737-800 jets were introduced along with a new livery. In June 2005, it was announced Air Europa was among four future associate members of the SkyTeam alliance, due to join by 2006. However, the joining date was postponed, and it did not become a member until 1 September 2007. Air Europa was the parent company for Air Dominicana, the new flag carrier of the Dominican Republic, until bankruptcy was declared for the Dominican Republic carrier on September 21, 2009.[13]

Developments since 2010

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Air Europa retired its last Boeing 767 on April 13, 2012.[14]

On May 22, 2019, the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC) granted Air Europa permission to operate domestic flights in the country. This was the first time a foreign company was granted such authorisation, after Brazilian laws were changed to allow full foreign ownership of domestic airlines. As of June 2019, no details were available about Air Europa's future domestic operations in Brazil, a market which the airline already serves with international flights from Madrid to Salvador and Recife.[15]

Proposed acquisition by International Airlines Group

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On November 4, 2019, International Airlines Group (IAG) announced plans to acquire Air Europa from Globalia for €1 billion ($1.1 billion) with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2020. At the time, Air Europa operated a fleet of 66 aircraft and had generated an operating profit of €100 million in 2018. IAG stated its intention to integrate Air Europa into Iberia while indefinitely retaining the brand. IAG expected to see an ROI by the fourth year with full synergy by 2025 including inter-group codeshares, bank timing adjustments at Madrid Airport, and sales and loyalty program alignment. In January 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the parties agreed to cut the transaction price in half to €500 million.[16][2] Plans for a merger were scrapped in November 2021, with both parties seeking ways to revive it, with a deadline set for the end of January 2022.[17][18][19] However, in August 2022, IAG converted a loan to Air Europa into a 20% shareholding.[20]

In February 2023, IAG agreed to buy Air Europa for €400 million, with the brand to remain intact despite IAG's plans to make it part of Iberia.[21][22][23] The decision followed interventions by the Spanish government, a key proponent of the merger.[24][25][26] According to IAG, the merger would allow for the launch of Asia flights from the Madrid hub, which the Spanish government had advocated for.[27] If the deal were to be approved by regulators, then once the merger would be complete, Air Europa was expected to exit SkyTeam and join other IAG members as part of Oneworld.[28][29] In January 2024, the European Commission said the deal could reduce competition on domestic routes in Spain and short-haul routes from Madrid to other major cities in Europe and the Mediterranean. The EU competition enforcer also cited concerns over long-haul routes between Madrid and the Americas. In February 2024, Reuters reported that IAG was likely to be hit with an EU antitrust warning, suggesting that regulators found IAG's proposed remedies to be insufficient to alleviate competition concerns.[30]

In August 2024, IAG announced that it would abandon the deal after deeming additional remedies to address EU antitrust conditions too onerous to make the deal viable.[31] IAG said it would instead seek to grow its position in Madrid to develop it into a rival to Europe's major aviation hubs.[32]

Destinations

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Main article: List of Air Europa destinations

Air Europa operates tour services between northern and western Europe and holiday resorts in the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands. It also operates domestic scheduled services and long-haul scheduled services to North America and South America from Madrid. Its hub is Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport.[33]

Codeshare agreements

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As of August 2021, Air Europa has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[34]

Fleet

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An Air Europa Boeing 787-8
An Air Europa Boeing 737-800 wearing the SkyTeam special livery
An Air Europa Embraer 195 painted in the airline's former livery

Current fleet

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As of August 2024, Air Europa operates an all-Boeing mainline fleet (excluding Air Europa Express) composed of the following aircraft:[38][39][40]

Air Europa fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers[41] Notes
C Y Total
Boeing 737-800 17 — 12 168 180
Boeing 737 MAX 8 — 20[42] TBA
Boeing 787-8 11 — 22 274 296
Boeing 787-9 15 3[43] 30 303 333[44]
Total 43 23

Historical fleet

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Air Europa previously operated the following aircraft:[45]

Air Europa historical fleet
Aircraft Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A330-200[38] 2006 2021
Airbus A330-300[38] 2013 2021
Airbus A340-200 2005 2006
ATR 42 1996 1997
Boeing 737-300 1986 2004
Boeing 737-400 1994 2006
Boeing 737-600 2003 2004
Boeing 757-200 1987 1998
Boeing 767-200 1996 2001
Boeing 767-300ER 2000 2012
British Aerospace ATP 1996 2001
Embraer ERJ-145 2012 2017
Embraer 195 2008 2017 Transferred to subsidiary Air Europa Express

Accidents and incidents

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Since its foundation in 1986, Air Europa has experienced one notable non-fatal accident:

  • On July 1, 2024, Air Europa Flight 045, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (registered as EC-MTI) flying from Madrid to Montevideo, experienced severe turbulence that resulted in at least 40 injuries, including multiple hospitalizations. The plane diverted to Natal, Brazil without further incident. No fatalities resulted among the 336 people on board, however the aircraft interior was damaged and required repair work.[46][47] Three passengers and one crew member were seriously injured.[48]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Listado de Certificados de Operador Aéreo (AOC) de avión y helicóptero" (PDF). Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea (AESA). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Air Europa Route Map and Destinations - FlightConnections.com". www.flightconnections.com.
  3. ^ "Corporate Information / Globalia Archived 2010-12-09 at the Wayback Machine." Air Europa. Retrieved on 17 December 2010. "Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U. ·Centro Empresarial Globalia. Apdo. Correos-132. 07620 Llucmajor - Baleares - Spain"
  4. ^ "Bases_Sorteo_Ginebra.pdf." Air Europa. Retrieved on 8 November 2012. "AIR EUROPA LÍNEAS AÉREAS S.A. (Sociedad Unipersonal), con domicilio en Polígono Son Noguera, Carretera Arenal-Llucmajor, Km 21,5 de Llucmajor, Mallorca,"
  5. ^ "Fact Sheet Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine." SkyTeam. Retrieved on 27 December 2008.
  6. ^ World Airline Directory. Flight International. 16–22 March 2004. "62." "Centro Empresarial Globalia, PO Box 132, Llucmajor, Baleares, 07620, Spain"
  7. ^ "Air Europa Challenges Iberia's Latin Dominance". Skift Airline Weekly. February 25, 2019. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  8. ^ "Air Europa crea su base de operaciones en Barajas". abc. September 25, 2013.
  9. ^ Payet, Jose Antonio (January 31, 2019). "Air Europa Continues to Grow Latin American Market, Nears Long-Standing Competitor".
  10. ^ "History of Air Europa". Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  11. ^ "Air Europa History | Air Europa". ot. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  12. ^ "Globalia". Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  13. ^ Air Dominicana listed as defunct. Retrieved 2009-09-29 Archived April 27, 2009, at archive.today
  14. ^ "Air Europa". Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  15. ^ Vinholes, Thiago (May 23, 2019). "Anac aprova concessão da Air Europa no Brasil" [Anac approves Air Europa concession in Brazil]. UOL (in Portuguese). São Paulo. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  16. ^ "IAG". Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  17. ^ Dunn2021-12-16T15:20:00+00:00, Graham. "IAG terminates Air Europa deal but agrees January deadline to study new structure". FlightGlobal. Retrieved December 17, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "BA owner IAG to scrap plan to buy Spanish carrier Air Europa". The Guardian. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  19. ^ "IAG and Air Europa cancel deal, examine alternative options". Reuters. December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  20. ^ IAG takes 20 stake in Air Europa FlightGlobal 16 August 2022
  21. ^ Devereux, Charlie (February 23, 2023). "IAG agrees to buy 80% stake in Air Europa for 400 mln euros". Reuters. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  22. ^ Schuurman, Richard (February 23, 2023). "IAG and Globalia agree on Air Europa deal". AirInsight. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  23. ^ MarketScreener (February 27, 2023). "International Airlines Group - IAG agreement for full acquisition of Air Europa | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  24. ^ Marco, Agustín (January 12, 2023). "La Moncloa reúne a Iberia y Air Europa para cerrar la fusión de forma inminente". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  25. ^ "Is IAG's Air Europa Acquisition Moving Forward? Spanish PM Pushes Deal – Travel Spill". travelspill.com. January 13, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  26. ^ Peña, Juan Cruz (June 2, 2022). "Iberia comprará el 20% de Air Europa tras el visto bueno del Gobierno a Globalia". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  27. ^ "IAG Reaches New $422 Million Deal for Air Europa". Airline Weekly. February 24, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  28. ^ "IAG agrees to buy Air Europa, again – the benefits are Madrid slot share, Europe-Latin America". CAPA - Centre for Aviation. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  29. ^ Nowakowski, Adrian (November 2, 2023). "Op-Ed: Potential Airline Alliance Shifts on the Horizon". Airways. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  30. ^ Foo Yun Chee (February 29, 2024). "Exclusive: IAG likely to be warned by EU on Air Europa deal, sources say". Reuters. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  31. ^ Plucinska, Joanna (August 1, 2024). "British Airways owner IAG scraps deal to acquire Air Europa". Reuters. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  32. ^ "IAG Drops Plans to Acquire Air Europa". Skift. August 1, 2024.
  33. ^ Kaminski-Morrow, David (November 4, 2019). "IAG acquires Air Europa in bid to transform Madrid". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021.
  34. ^ "Air Europa Company | Corporate information | Air Europa". us.
  35. ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/241112-muuxcodeshare
  36. ^ "Air Europa and Copa Airlines announce a new code-share agreement". www.copaair.com.
  37. ^ "ITA Airways e Air Europa, accordo per migliore connettività tra i due network" [ITA Airways and Air Europa, codeshare for a better connectivity between their networks]. teleborsa.it (in Italian). Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  38. ^ a b c "Spain's Air Europa to add five B787-9s, ten B737 MAX". ch-aviation GmbH. September 1, 2022. Archived from the original on July 30, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  39. ^ "News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry | CAPA". centreforaviation.com. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  40. ^ Dolande, Rainer Nieves (January 17, 2024). "Air Europa celebrates the arrival of its latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner". Aviacionline.com (in Spanish). Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  41. ^ "Fleet". aireuropa.com. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  42. ^ "Spain's Air Europa to take first three B737 MAX in 2024". ch-aviation. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  43. ^ "Air Europa adds a new Boeing 787-9 to its long-haul fleet". AVIATOR. August 12, 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  44. ^ "Air Europa schedules 787-9 Argentina service in March 2018". Routesonline. 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  45. ^ "Air Europa Fleets". Airfleets.net. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  46. ^ Hradecky, S. (2024), "Accident: Europa B789 over Atlantic on Jul 1st 2024, severe turbulence injures 30", The Aviation Herald, retrieved September 30, 2024
  47. ^ "40 people injured after Air Europa flight experiences heavy turbulence, diverted to Brazil". ABC News. Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  48. ^ Accident description for EC-MTI at the Aviation Safety Network
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Media related to Air Europa at Wikimedia Commons

39°28′59″N 2°51′10″E / 39.48307290°N 2.85285110°E / 39.48307290; 2.85285110

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