Carlos Tavares, former CEO of Stellantis, is out of the running for TAP, but confirmed in an interview with the newspaper “Observador” that he remains interested in Azores Airlines (SATA Internacional). According to Tavares, the smaller size of the Azorean airline represents a strategic advantage. “What is interesting about SATA is that it is small. Four hundred million in revenue, 10 aircraft, 1.5 million passengers, a hub in Ponta Delgada. It is a company that can be turned around because it is human in scale,” he said.

The business manager sees the Azores as “a platform” and “an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean.” However, to close the privatization deal, Tavares signaled that an agreement with the workers was decisive. “If there is no agreement with the unions, we will not go against them (…) If employees do not want to save their own company, they also have the authority to destroy it. They have that power,” he stressed.

The consortium he is part of has increased its acquisition bid to 15 million euros. At the same time, it wants the company’s liabilities excluded from the deal. “Anyone who tries to buy it has only one obligation: to rebuild it. SATA (Azores Airlines) is completely dismantled. And there are figures that I don’t want to disclose today, but which are so serious that it is easy to understand why the company needs (…). No one will take on that company if it comes with a backpack full of liabilities. That’s obvious. It’s a matter of business hygiene,” he said.

Carlos Tavares does not want to be the company’s chief executive officer (CEO). Still, he admits to holding the position of chairman (chairman of the board of directors or non-executive chairman). He has a long career in the automotive industry, with top positions at companies such as Renault, Nissan, PSA, and Stellantis. In 2021, he took over as CEO of Stellantis, becoming the highest-paid executive in the industry. His career also includes a stint in the aviation sector, as Carlos Tavares was a member of the board of directors of Airbus.

The privatization process of Azores Airlines is at a decisive stage, with a meeting scheduled for Monday between the jury, SATA’s management, and the Newtour/MS Aviation consortium, which Carlos Tavares joined at a later stage. This face-to-face meeting in Lisbon was initially scheduled for last Tuesday. The Secretary of Finance, Planning, and Public Administration, Duarte Freitas, has already stated that if no agreement is reached in this privatization process, the options are “private negotiation” or, at worst, the closure of the company.

In the same interview, Carlos Tavares emphasized: “The company must have a business model in which the routes it operates are profitable and the costs it incurs are competitive compared to other companies. Therefore, rebuilding SATA’s business model only makes sense if we do it with the employees.”

Regarding the submission of a proposal, he simply replied that “the jury president is in charge.” “Either we don’t make a proposal, or we make a proposal by that date. So far, we are studying the case,” he said.

Tavares also praised Luís Rodrigues—currently at the helm of TAP—as president of SATA. “What we can see today is that the results for 2024 are much worse than those for 2022. And we are facing this situation. The British call this a falling knife, catching a knife that is falling. It can cut your hand. We are trying, at all costs, to understand how fast it is falling, so we can catch the knife.”

No Diário Insular – José Lourenço, director.

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.