Spanish Airlines Vueling and Clickair have agreed to merge. The two airlines have been in merger talks since the start of the year, with soaring oil prices boosting the need to consolidate Spain’s fragmented airline market.A merger, which is subject to Spanish competition commission approval, would create an airline with approximately 50 aircraft and 10.7 million passengers per anum, the third largest airline in Spain, after Iberia and Spanair.

The tie-up would also enable local the merged airlines to better compete with Ryanair and easyJet, which have made major inroads into the markets to/from Spain and on domestic routes over the past two years.

Spanish national carrier, Iberia (which controls 80% of Clickair) will emerge as a substantial shareholder in the new airline along with Nefinsa and Inversiones Hemisferio.
——-