What happened
The Portuguese government's investment arm, Parpública, has received binding bids from two airline groups for a 44.5% to 49.9% stake in TAP Portugal: Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Group. IAG (parent of British Airways and Iberia) did not bid. Parpública has 30 days to analyze the proposals, with the government targeting a September close. Air France-KLM would use TAP as its sole Southern European carrier to strengthen its Transatlantic JV with Delta, while Lufthansa already operates ITA in Rome. The acquisition could trigger an alliance switch for TAP from Star Alliance to SkyTeam, impacting frequent flyers' earning and redemption options