[Anonymous]

[Swissdiver]

Effectively it means Aegean grows from 30 to 45 planes!

http://en.aegeanair.com/all-about-us/press-office/press-releases/press-release/?prid=439

AEGEAN: European Commission’s approval of the acquisition of Olympic Air allows the creation of a viable, dynamic Greek carrier
The acquisition of the shares will be completed by 18.10.2013
Athens, 9 October, 2013 – The European Commission announced today its decision to approve the acquisition of Olympic Air by AEGEAN.
The rationale of the European Commission decision supports the absolute necessity of economies of scale to achieve viability within the Greek aviation market. The acquisition creates the conditions for the establishment of a sustainable Greek carrier, competitive within the Region and capable of supporting a growth momentum which will benefit Greek Tourism and the local economy.
Following EU approval, the acquisition of the shares of Olympic Air and the assumption of management by AEGEAN is expected to be completed by 18/10/2013. The total consideration for the transaction has been set at €72 m., of which €20 m. have already been paid. Upon the completion of the acquisition, Olympic Air will become a subsidiary of the listed AEGEAN, while the process of unification of the support functions will begin immediately. The two brands and logos of the companies will remain with each one retaining distinct aircraft and flight activity.

[JohnHarper]

I think this is an excellent move and should lead to some stability in the Greek market.

Does anyone know which brand will be used? When this was first mooted the proposal was that the new company would be known as Olympic but given the troubled history of the name and the relatively good reputation of Aegean this could be a big mistake.

[Str8Talking]

Olympic has a very loyal (Greek) client base which Aegean will benefit from. It has all been very strategic, since they were denied merging in the first instance some years ago. Olympic planes were being leased/bought by Aegean, routes and slots changed hands to make Olympic small enough for purchase. I think they are both in a very good place in terms of their product and service delivery! I hope Aegean maintains its high standards and maybe someday be stong enough to venture beyond its regional model!

[AnthonyDunn]

Next stop purchasing Cyprus Airways, or more accurately taking over its liabilities?!!!

But as Aegean shows all the signs of operating in an entirely commercially logical and managerially rational manner to date, having just swallowed Olympic, that is most probably one indigestible gulp too much.

It will be interesting to see whether such logic pertains to future AF/KL dealings with AZ bearing in mind that the latter is fast running out of cash and has suppliers (such as ENI, its Italian fuel supplier) who are talking of refusing any further lines of credit.

This is starting to look like 2013 is a year in which the dominoes finally started falling over in the European aviation market.

[Yorgo51]

They will each keep their own logo and identity
i.e. Olympic will be a subsidiary / daughter company of Aegean

[Swissdiver]

Thanks for the info, Yorgo. Don’t you think that at some stage, they will try to merge?

[Yorgo51]

Swissdiver

Maybe! But I would doubt very much they would want to give up either logo …. Possibly Olympic may become a domestic and / or charter carrier
and Aegean develop more internationally???
Time will tell but preparations underway to merge the two FF programmes.

[Swissdiver]

It is right that both brands are strong in Greece. Difficult to give up one… And regarding the FF programs, at least we can be sure it will be a *A one, since to my knowledge, Olympic’s wasn’t affiliated to any alliance.

[Author]

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