TUI Group has announced it has sold off a majority stake in its Corsair International (SS, Paris Orly) carrier to German aviation turnaround specialists, INTRO Aviation.

The German tour operator group said in a statement that under the deal, INTRO will acquire a 53% stake in Corsair as a first step. TUI Group will initially retain a minority stake of 27%, while Corsair’s Employee Benefit Trust will control the remaining 20%. Earlier reports had indicated INTRO would partner US-based private equity specialist Crestline in the acquisition.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

TUI said the sale had been partly motivated by the fact that the French long-haul leisure carrier had been unable to deliver any synergy effects with the rest of the group, TUI tour operators and cruise companies, or the Group’s five European charter airlines namely TUI Airways, TUI fly (Belgium), TUI fly (Germany), TUI fly (Netherlands), and TUI fly Nordic.

“We are consistently transforming TUI to focus on tourism, its core business," TUI CEO Fritz Joussen said. "Here, we are investing in hotels and cruise ships, and increasingly in holiday experiences in the destinations. These are segments in which we are growing, and where we are continuing to expand our global activities. We are exiting non-core business areas that do not leverage any synergies for the Group. The sale [of Corsair] is the right move for TUI and will also benefit Corsair and its staff."

The sale will reduce TUI’s fleet by seven long-haul aircraft: three B747-400s as well as two A330-200s and two A330-300s. It currently serves Montréal Trudeau and Miami International in North America, Havana International, Pointe à Pitre, and Fort de France in the Caribbean, Bamako and Abidjan in West Africa, and Mauritius and St. Denis de la Réunion in the Indian Ocean.