Binter, the leading airline in the Canary Islands, has reportedly begun exploratory talks to acquire a minority stake in Azores Airlines. The news was reported by Spanish digital newspaper Vozpópuli.

According to the Spanish publication, last week a senior official from the Regional Government of the Azores gave a presentation on the strategic benefits of Azores Airlines at a forum of the Association for the Progress of Macaronesia in the Canary Islands.

The news comes at a time when the jury for the privatization of Azores Airlines is analyzing the only bid submitted for the acquisition of 85% of the company. The consortium now called AtlanticConnectGroup, which includes businessmen Tiago Raiano, Carlos Tavares, Paulo Pereira, and Nuno Pereira, is said to have offered €17 million.

The Azorean executive has, however, asked Brussels to postpone the process completion deadline, which was due to end in 2025, by one year. The newspaper reports that Binter, which already has codeshare agreements with Azores Airlines, considers its presence in the Azores strategic to its growth.

“For Binter, the Azores are the key to the Central Atlantic: closer to North America, they fly to the US and Canada, with their own regulatory incentives and the possibility of creating an Iberian Peninsula-Macaronesia frequency corridor that no one is currently taking advantage of,” said a Portuguese expert, speaking to Vozpópuli.

According to the newspaper, Binter’s stake in Azores Airlines would allow it to coordinate schedules, frequencies, and capacities to create an integrated network between the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores, as well as between Lisbon, Porto, and Madrid. The operator’s goal is not to acquire Azores Airlines, but to secure influence within the company.

Binter’s international growth has been driven by its connections to West Africa. Still, the company intends to diversify its geographic risk and enter markets currently dominated by Azores Airlines and TAP. By entering Azores Airlines, Binter aims to gain greater access to the Portuguese market, with slots in Lisbon and Porto, and to create a joint scheduling agreement between Macaronesia and the Iberian Peninsula without relying on TAP.

The Canary Islands company also aims to strengthen its presence in transatlantic regulation, where Portugal and Spain differ on routes, fares, and public service obligations. In addition, it wants to position itself on future low-density transatlantic routes from the Azores.

According to Vozpópuli, Binter posted a positive result in 2024 of €15.8 million, but the consolidated accounts indicate that EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was negative at €12.1 million and that total assets were €555 million. The company’s share capital is €5.4 million.

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