IAG, which reports quarterly earnings on Friday, is separately working to close its €400m purchase of Air Europa, a rival to Iberia in Madrid and another trans-Atlantic specialist.
This comes after the European Commission said in April that it views the deal as likely to restrict competition and push up prices for travel both within Spain and on long-haul routes.
IAG says the takeover would give it about 64pc of long-haul flights from Madrid, putting it on a par with Air France’s position in Paris and that of Lufthansa in Frankfurt.
Given the scrutiny, IAG will need to give up more slots and routes to secure approval for the transaction.
Separately, policymakers in Brussels have also extended the deadline for a decision on Lufthansa’s €325m acquisition of a 41pc stake in ITA Airways, Italy’s state carrier.
The German airline must again sweeten a package of proposed remedies to win approval.
As for the bloc’s third pending deal, Air France-KLM is awaiting the EU’s response to its November agreement to take a 20pc stake in Scandinavian Airlines as part of a $1.2bn transaction that also involves the Danish government.
SAS said it expects the investment to trigger some antitrust recommendations, though nothing that might upset the plan.
Finnair, once touted as another potential IAG target, remains independent after the closure of Russian airspace upended its strategy of feeding traffic from East Asia into Europe via Helsinki.
In terms of IAG’s finances, British Airways remains the main driver of earnings after generating just short of half of the company’s €3.5bn in operating profits last year.
Resurgent revenues since Covid – hitting €29.45bn in 2023 – have also been aided by Iberia and Aer Lingus, while the group also owns Barcelona-based discount carrier Vueling.
It is this strength in numbers that IAG hope will be enough to convince the Portuguese government of a prospective sale, which would propel the airline giant back towards its original goal of global expansion.
