Meanwhile, has anybody already read the article which is now being discussed here, because without facts and figures, there's few to discuss, really.
Other than maybe it now seems a given that Lufthansa will thus indeed acquire them, which IMHO is a very positive evolution and a big vote of confidence in the future of their operations!
After all, some 2 years ago we were discussing the likeliness of them going out of business on the back of a multi million euro loss and the open competition which just started in full force at their home market; 2 years later and they have grown massively in size and are said to have become profitable to the point they are now a prime candidate for purchase even!
Let's look at it objectively: currently BRU airlines is running 2 very different types of operations under 1 single brand, which is a situation which is less than perfect (That does sound familiar, doesn't it, Sean?)
I understand the reason why they do it, but I can perfectly see why it could be a good idea to split the company up and integrate their current European operations into a pan-European Eurowings once the occasion presents itself: larger sale force, benefit of scale, smaller overhead, easier access to new markets, increased flexibility etc.
If they can somehow make their newly rebranded European operations from BRU codeshare with their remaining intercontinental operations, they actually do what others have long been discussing but are hesitating to do, i.e. intercontinental flights fed by a genuine low cost platform: one of their own!
BRU might even be the ideal laboratory for such new set up: a unique occasion presents itself with intercontinental feed present from the US, Asia and Africa (also from partner airlines), it's large enough to get a meaningful idea of how it is going, yet not too big to risk the whole reputation of the group on it, and if successful, it may then be rolled out at other hubs too: say VIE or MUC.
Not to mention BRU is a much more interesting platform and a true hub to offer connections from than Cologne or Stuttgart like Eurowings is currently (planning on) doing, so Lufthansa might even be persuaded to reconsider their orignial plans for intercontinental flights by Eurowings and move them to BRU.
I for one could well see both the rebranded Eurowings operations as well as Brussels Airlines (intercontinental) grow significantly if both operations run under their own brand, yet work together closely.
As to the courting of IAG: I think all too many people have a somewhat naive view of running a business.
IAG will make the same analysis as Lufthansa or anybody else of the situation at BRU and will likely come to roughly the same conclusions: what's there to prevent them from doing the same as Lufthansa, and integrate their European operations into Vueling for instance? It would make perfect sense too, but I am pretty confident Lufthansa has also seen the benefit and will do it themselves: the take over could mean big business for BRU if done correctly (huge potential for growth as a hub) and it's definitely not so good news for point to point competitors there.
Fingers crossed.
