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Turkish Airlines is preparing a binding offer to acquire a stake in Spanish carrier Air Europa, an executive confirmed during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
The proposal is still pending board approval, but the airline indicated that it plans to make the offer public once finalized, Reuters reported.
The move by Türkiye’s national carrier comes as other contenders back out of the process. German airline Lufthansa announced Tuesday that it has abandoned its bid for a stake in Air Europa. The decision followed Air France-KLM’s earlier withdrawal last week, narrowing the field of prospective buyers.
Reuters previously reported that delays in the process were partly due to disagreements among members of the Hidalgo family, the current owners of Air Europa, as well as concerns from potential investors regarding the structure of the deal.
Air Europa, which operates flights across Spain and connects Madrid with major European and Latin American cities, is looking to raise capital to repay a government-backed loan. Turkish Airlines had disclosed in June that it was engaged in non-binding talks regarding a possible investment.
The carrier generated $5.98 billion in total revenue during the period, representing a 5.6% increase compared to the same quarter last year. However, net profit dropped by 26.7%, falling to $691 million.
Operating profit rose by 19.5% to $706 million, but the company cited the weakening of the U.S. dollar and changes in tax provisions as key factors negatively affecting its net earnings.
Turkish lira has deteriorated by over 13% year-to-date against the U.S. dollar, with the exchange rate now hovering at 40.65.
For the first half of the year, net profit fell 44.7% to $647 million.
As of June 2025, Turkish Airlines’ fleet reached 485 aircraft, with 36% comprising new-generation models. The company added new destinations during the quarter, including Benghazi, Damascus, Port Sudan, and Phnom Penh.
The company executives said that the airline aims to expand its fleet to between 520 and 525 aircraft by the end of the year.
The airline currently serves 352 destinations across 131 countries—more than any other carrier globally.
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