On 28 September, the Supervisory Board of the Lufthansa Group finally made official its decision to sell Lufthansa.acquire the remaining 55% from SN Airholding. This takeover of the parent company of Brussels Airlines will lead to the full acquisition of the Belgian carrier over the next few months. " Completing the full acquisition of SN Airholding by Deutsche Lufthansa AG following a final agreement on the terms of exercise of the call option with SN Airholding's shareholders by the end of this year remains thecommon goal of Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines "says the press release. It also sets out a timetable for the next steps to be taken, including a completion of the transaction early in 2017. The amount of this acquisition, which has been under consideration since Lufthansa acquired a stake in SN Airholding, is not yet known. However, the Belgian media are reporting a "very low price : " Taking into account a calculation that includes a loan granted by Lufthansa, the total purchase price could be less than €3 million".according to Le Vif.
In August, Brussels Airlines recorded a slight increase (+4.6% to 743,750 passengers) in the number of passengers carried compared with the same period in 2015, and has set its sights higher with the launch of strategic routes, particularly for business customers. On 6 March, the Belgian airline will set off on the Brussels-Mumbai routeA few months earlier, Jet Airways deserted Brussels and transferred its European hub to Amsterdam Schiphol. Brussels Airlines has also recently launched a number of flights to top destinations, including the inauguration of its first flight to Canadain Toronto in April. On the French side, last June the company launched a new flight between Nantes and the Belgian capital.
It remains to be seen what impact this acquisition by Lufthansa will have on the airline's positioning over the coming months, both in terms of network and service, to play the complementary card with the group's other carriers. In any case, this autumn 2016 will be marked by the consolidation of the business travel market, following the acquisition of Lufthansa.acquisition of KDS by American Express GBTConcur's Hipmunk, and more recently Wijet's Blink.
