Air France insists on flexible management’ for TAP to make profits

The airline consortium Air France-KLM has delivered its interest to buy a share in TAP to the Portuguese public holding that controls public companies, Parpública, but investment of 49% in the airline would be contingent on having total flexibility in management issues to take the decisions it sees fit to get and keep the airline in profit.

In other words it doesn’t want the government stepping in and meddling with the way the company is managed or changing the goal posts.

In a visit by a group of Portuguese journalists to Amsterdam to see the business and management model that KLM practices – a company that was acquired by Air France in 2004 – the group indicated its ‘Manifestation of Interest’ which is being finalised but admits that a binding offer may not be achieved.

“We still haven’t decided if we will make a binding offer or not. There are many factors on the table but TAP is an attractive proposition for us”, said Ben Smith (pictured) the President of the airline conglomerate.

Among the doubts it has is its freedom of control and flexibility to ensure its 100% management given that the Portuguese State will continue to be the major shareholder in TAP.

For the time being, Air France-KLM is to send questions to Parpública which is responsible for collecting them from applicants until October 13, and Manifestations of Interest until November 22.