Industry IAG considers Norwegian and Ryanair bid

According to aviation media, the International Airlines Group (IAG) considers making a joint offer for the Low-cost airlines Norwegian Air Shuttle and Ryanair. It is said, that the IAG shareholders are in talks with the Irish carrier to purchase Norwegian Air Shuttle.

The group´s UK-located shareholders set up a concept, that sees Norwegian Air Shuttle operating the long-haul services, while Ryanair would concentrate its interest in operating on European short to mid-haul routes.

In April 2018, rumours had it, that IAG seeks to fully acquire Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA. The group currently holds 4.6% shares of Norwegian. Back then, IAG stated, that it has initiated discussions with the Norwegian, including the possibility of a full offer for the Scandinavian Low-Cost carrier. A further statement has not been made so far, neither by the carrier nor the Group.

Norwegian´s CEO Bjørn Kjos noted, that he will be open for a deal at the right price. According to the media, Norwegian already rejected two recent IAG bids for the airline.

The International Airlines Group (IAG) was created in 2010, when Iberia and British Airways merged. Since then, the group has added several subsidiaries to its portfolio, including Ireland´s Aer Lingus, IAG, Cargo, Vueling, Level and Avios Group. IAG is one of the leading airline groups in the aviation branch.

Norwegian Air Shuttle is a low-cost airline, headquartered in Fornebu, Norway. Its subsidiaries are Norwegian Air International, Norwegian Air UK, Norwegian Long Haul and Norwegian Air Argentina. Accumulated, the group operates over 150 aircraft, including Boeing 737-800, Boeing 737 MAX8, Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. For the summer flight schedule, Norwegian Air International has leased an additional Boeing 777-200 from Euro Atlantic.

Ryanair is a low-cost carrier headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. 415 Boeing 737-800 and a sole Boeing 737-700 belong to the carrier´s fleet. As largest 737-800 customer in the world, Ryanair serves over 200 European destinations on 2000 routes daily. Recently, the airline announced to purchase 25 additional Boeing 737 MAX 200. Ryanair has over 150 Boeing airplanes on order.