Scandinavia's SAS Group has called off the planned sale of its Spanish subsidiary Spanair due to "challenging market conditions".
SAS has been trying to offload Spanair since last June but despite previous interest from Spanish flag carrier Iberia and Grupo Marsans owner Gonzalo Pascual, nobody seems to want the carrier. So it looks like SAS is stuck with it.
Pascual, who sold his 5.1% stake in Spanair a year ago to clear to way to bid for 100% of the carrier, is busy negotiating with an Argentine businessman over the future of Marsans' subsidiary Aerolineas Argentinas. So he obviously has quite a lot on his mind at the moment!
If I had pots of money to invest (if only, if only), I wouldn't be overly keen on buying Spanair either. The Spanish market is fiercely competitive nowadays, following the arrival of low-cost operators Clickair and Vueling.
Also, Spanair operates a fleet of fuel-guzzling MD-80s which, in a time of environmental concerns and $140 oil, doesn't make much financial sense.
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