10/16/2026
SWISS, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, ITA Airways. Now Lufthansa has won the race for a stake in TAP Air Portugal, beating Air France-KLM with an offer worth up to €1.2 billion.
Portugal has selected the German group to buy 44.9% of TAP, potentially rising to 49.9% if employees do not take up their reserved shares. Regulatory approval is still required, with a possible majority purchase to follow.
The attraction stretches well beyond Lisbon. TAP’s extensive Brazil network gives Lufthansa a stronger foothold across the South Atlantic, something the group explicitly highlighted after winning.
Portugal has secured commitments to preserve TAP’s name, headquarters and Lisbon hub, strengthen Porto operations and expand the fleet. Passengers should still see the familiar Portuguese airline.
But keeping different names on the aircraft does not necessarily preserve competition between their owners.
Lufthansa’s earlier purchase of a stake in ITA needed EU approval conditioned on measures to protect competing services, including access for rivals and airport slots. TAP’s deal must now face regulatory scrutiny too.
There is a credible promise of more aircraft and better connections here. There is also another major airline moving towards a group that already owns several of the alternatives passengers might book instead.
