Changeable planes
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Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary believes Wizz Air and its rivals will easily need to be merged or released by other carriers as airlines combine to monitor the epidemic.
EasyJet revealed Thursday opposed the removal of an unnamed person, who a person familiar with the conversation confirmed was Wizz Air.
This approach is the first sign of a crackdown on European industries that have been disrupted for 18 months and have been seen as ready for integration.
“EasyJet and Wizz may need to be released or. . . we agree, “O’Leary told the Financial Times.
He also said big flag bearers such as the owner of British Airways IAG, Lufthansa or Air France could eventually try to buy counterfeit planes, be it low rivals or small online airlines.
“Integration must happen and it will happen again. It’s inevitable, especially coming out of Covid, “he added.
O’Leary believes that aviation is essential for survival, and that a divided market in Europe will not be stable for long.
Many European governments are unwilling to give up their flights in the country – and O’Leary’s fears – have unveiled aid plans for survivors to survive the epidemic.
Following in the footsteps of his plane, EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren also said that the epidemic could cause problems for companies in Europe. “I think everyone will agree that when you are in this situation, there is a game of encouragement, ”he said on Thursday.
For O’Leary, the combination between Wizz and EasyJet would be sensible because they both operate all Airbus aircraft and operate in different locations.
The EasyJet game would give Wizz ambition soon in western Europe, a region that has been steadily growing in the Eastern European market over the past 15 years.
But, like Ryanair, it has built an impressive system by saving a small amount of labor costs. Connecting with easyJet brings in a lot of money and the need to do it from the most expensive airports.
“The question may be, will Wizz change the price of EasyJet, or will EasyJet costs the Wizz price,” O’Leary said.
Ryanair had no interest in M&A at the time, O’Leary said, as he feared this could jeopardize his lucrative business.
However, he revealed that he had tried several times to buy Wizz Air from Bill Franke, the founder of American business in the years before it was mentioned in London in 2015. “I tried to buy Wizz three or four times, but we did not agree on the price,” he said.
He also said he was not interested in Wizz’s retail market for around $ 5.5bn.
Ryanair has more than 200 aircraft to support growth over the next decade, but this week talks to Boeing about another order for the Max-10 aircraft to crash after the two sides did not agree on a price.
O’Leary, who is best known for reaching out to the public in his interview with suppliers, said he was ready to wait a decade for the next crisis before returning to the table. He also said he would “play football happily” with Airbus if it came in 5% to 10% cheaper than Boeing. “I’m an accountant,” he said.
Wizz Air and easyJet declined to comment.