TAP intends to implement the restructuring plan in October, said the airline’s executive president (CEO) Christine Urmier-Weyden in an interview published in Newsletter an internal company that Luz had access to.
The manager, having explained that she prefers to talk about “transformation” rather than about restructuring, recalled the role of the European Commission and the government in this process.
“Firstly, this is the dimension of the European Commission, they know our plan, we talked about it, it is led by the Government, because we are talking about state aid,” he explained, ensuring, even in this case, that the telecom operator is “definitely” participates in the conversation.
“As for the plan, what we are doing now and what we want in the future, I think, is clear,” he stressed, pointing out that “it will focus on restructuring costs” and adjusting production capacity in response to demand. The CEO also highlighted the importance of bringing the company closer to customers, as well as the “workers aspect” that is being developed “now” and about which she did not provide further details.
“This is an extensive and complex plan, and we intend to bring it into effect in October,” he concluded, noting that it is still necessary to “submit an implementation plan to the Board of Directors in advance, in accordance with the procedures”.
“We are working to be more specific and detailed about what we want to do today, in a few months and next year,” emphasized Christine Urmier-Widener, noting that “it is always difficult to predict what we want to do … in four, five years from the action plan ”.
“But at least we want to start disclosing as much as possible what the priorities are for the coming months and next year,” he stressed.
On June 10, Portugal officially notified the European Commission of restructuring assistance of € 3,200 million to finance the group’s restructuring plan through TAP Air Portugal.
“I believe aviation is facing the worst crisis since its inception,” the CEO defended, ensuring that “nothing is comparable.” However, the TAP leader said she was “optimistic.”
“I believe that this crisis will be difficult to overcome, but at the same time we must believe that after it we will become stronger,” he stressed.
Christine Urmier-Widener believes that “there will be some changes in commercial aviation due to consolidation,” noting that “some companies will get even bigger, such as ‘low cost’, because they have a very strong cash position compared to airlines. … flag “.
According to the executive president of TAP, another major change in the sector “will be the desire of customers to access more online services.”
“The digital transformation we anticipate will be even stronger, and we must listen to and understand trends so that we can respond when they begin to show signs of recovery,” he guaranteed.
The manager also said that “business travel will not recover at the same level as leisure travel,” although he noted that “TAP as an airline is slightly better prepared than others because it travels better than others in their free time. flagship companies “.
