x.com/adampnathan/status/2110355487896256946
1 correction found
Lufthansa has collected more flag carriers than anyone: Swiss, Austrian, Brussels, ITA, and now TAP.
TAP was not yet part of Lufthansa Group on October 14, 2026. Portugal had only selected Lufthansa to buy a minority stake, while the state kept 50.1% and the deal still needed regulatory approval.
Full reasoning
This overstates the status of the TAP deal.
On October 14, 2026, Portugal did not say Lufthansa had already acquired TAP. The Portuguese government said it had selected Lufthansa in the first phase of TAP's privatization for the acquisition of 44.9% of the airline, with up to another 5% depending on employee take-up. The same government announcement says the state keeps 50.1% of TAP.
A same-day Euronews/AP report likewise says Portugal chose Lufthansa to buy a 44.9% stake, but that the deal still needs regulatory approval and that the state will retain a majority stake of 50.1%.
So Lufthansa had not yet "collected" or added TAP as an owned airline at the time of the post; it had only been chosen as the preferred buyer in a still-unfinished minority-stake transaction.
2 sources
- Governo seleciona a Lufthansa para aquisição de até 49,9% do capital social da TAP - XXV Governo Constitucional
O Governo seleciona a Lufthansa para a aquisição de 44,9% do capital social da TAP... O Estado mantém 50,1% do capital, preservando o controlo da companhia.
- Lufthansa beats Air France-KLM to €1.2bn stake in TAP Air Portugal | Euronews
Portugal has chosen Lufthansa to buy a 44.9% stake in TAP, completing the first phase of the airline's privatisation. The deal still needs regulatory approval... the state will retain a majority stake of 50.1% in the company.